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HISTORY 


-OF- 


JfiARNSTABLE  ^UNTY, 

MASSACHUSETTS. 


1620 


I  I  I 


1637- 


1686 


III    . 
1890 


Edited  by 
SIMKON    L.    DEYO. 


Special  Contri'butors: 


Hon.  Charles  F.  Swift, 

Capt.  Thomas  Prince  Howes, 
Rev.  N.  H.  Chamberlain, 
E.  S.  Whittemore,  Esq., 
JosiAH  Paine, 

Prof.  S.  A.  Holton, 
Charles  Dillingham, 


Prof.  John  H.  Dillingham, 
James  Gifford, 

George  N.  Munsell,  M.  D., 
Judge  James  H.  Hopkins, 
Joshua  H.  Paine, 
Rev.  Thomas  Bell, 
F.  A.  Rogers,  M.D. 


ILLUSTRATED 


1890. 


Reprinted  by  - 

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Phone:  978/745-7170   Fea:  978/745-8025 


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INTRODUCTION. 


In  presenting  to  the  people  of  Barnstable  county  this  history,  it  is 
hoped  that  it  will  meet  with  the  favorable  reception  which  the  earnest 
and  conscientious  labors  of  its  compilers  merit.  It  will  be  seen  by  an 
examination  of  the  work  that  nine  important  chapters,  besides  many 
other  valuable  articles  in  it,  were  prepared  by  well-known  citizens  of 
the  county,  and  it  is  believed  that  their  names  will  be  considered  a 
guaranty  that  every  reasonable  eflfort  has  been  made  to  secure  accu- 
racy in  the  many  details  which  constitute  a  history. 

Names  of  the  special  contributors  appear  in  the  work,  but  oppor- 
tunity is  taken  here  to  return  thanks  for  the  generous  response  with 
which  requests  for  information  have  also  been  met  by  the  clerks  of 
the  different  towns,  ofiBcers  of  societies,  editors,  clergymen  and  others 
who  were  in  possession  of  special  information  that  was  desired. 

Particular  acknowledgement  is  due  for  the  valuable  assistance 
of  George  E.  Clarke,  of  Falmouth;  Charles  Dillingham,  of  Sand- 
wich ;  Calvin  Burgess,  of  Bourne ;  Ferdinand  G.  Kelley,  of  Barnsta- 
ble ;  Joshua  C.  Howes  and  Watson  F.  Baker,  of  Dennis ;  Levi  Atwood, 
of  Chatham ;  Captain  Alfred  Kenrick  and  David  L.  Young,  of  Orleans ; 
Simeon  Atwood,  of  Wellfleet ;  and  to  Mr.  Clark,  of  Eastham,  who  care- 
fully criticised  and  corrected  the  respective  town  manuscripts  sub- 
mitted to  them. 

The  biographical  sketches,  for  the  most  part,  have  been  arranged 
alphabetically  at  the  end  of  the  several  chapters.  The  large  number 
of  these  sketches  has  necessitated  as  brief  treatment  as  the  circum- 
stances would  warrant.  No  pains  have  been  spared  to  make  this  de- 
partment accurate,  and  it  is  believed  that  it  constitutes  an  interesting 
portion  of  the  work,  which  will  increase  in  value  with  the  lapse  of 
years. 


IV  INTRODUCTION. 

A  new  feature  and  one  of  interest,  is  a  map  showing  the  location 
of  the  various  Indian  tribes  and  their  villages,  which  were  spread 
over  the  Cape  prior  to  its  settlement  by  the  whites.  Another  map, 
in  its  proper  place,  will  enable  the  reader  at  a  glance  to  learn  the 
dates  of  settlement  and  incorporation  of  the  respective  towns,  and  as 
a  ready  reference  will  be  of  great  value.  These  maps  were  specially 
drawn  for  this  work  by  the  editor. 

While  some  unimportant  errors  may,  perhaps,  be  found  amid  the 
multitude  of  details  entering  into  the  composition  of  a  work  of  this 
character,  it  is  believed  that  this  result  of  the  historians'  labor  will 
be  found  as  free  from  mistakes  as  a  work  of  this  kind  can  well  be 
made,  and  in  behalf  of  these  historians  is  asked  the  generous  indul- 
gence of  those  who  may  be  disposed  to  criticise. 

New  York,  June,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

TOPOGRAPHY  AND  OKOLOGY.  PAGE 

Location  and  Boundaries. — Geological  Formation. — Contour  of  the  Coast. — Surface 
and  Soil. — The  Flora  of  the  Cape. — Effect  of  the  Landscape  on  the  Character 
of  the  Cape  Men 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

INDIAN  HISTORY. 

Origin. — Manners. — Customs. —  Religion. —  Cape'  Indians. —  Their  Villages. —  Their 

Tribes. — Map. — Kindness. — Subjugation. — Decrease. — Extinction. — Legends....     12 

CHAPTER  III. 

DISCOVERY   AND  EXPLORATION. 

Early  Discovery  of  the  Cape. — Explorations  by  Gosnold  and  Dermer. — The  Pilgrims. 
— The  Mayflower  in  Cape  Cod  Harbor. — Explorations  by  the  Pilgrims. — Com- 
pact Signed. — Plymouth. — The  Lost  Boy. — Post  at  Manomet. — Great  Storm. — 
Declaration  of  Rights. — First  Settlement  of  the  Cape  by  the  Whites. — Sandwich, 
Barnstable,  Yarmouth  and  Nauset. — Erection  of  County 20 

CHAPTER  IV. 

CHARTERS,   GRANTS  AND  INDIAN  DEEDS. 

Spanitih  Claims. — Cabot's  Discoveries. — Plymouth  Company. — Council  of  Plymouth. 
—The  Pilgrims.— Patent  of  1629-30.— Settlement  of  the  Cape  Towns  and  Pur- 
chases from  the  Indians. — Charter  of  1691 82 

CHAPTER  V. 

CrVIL  HISTORY  AND  INSTITDTIONS. 

Basis  of  Civil  Government. — Erection  of  the  County. — Political  History. — Council- 
lors.— Senators. — Representatives. — Sheriffs. —  Registers. —  County  Institutions. 
— Federal  Institutions. — Custom  House. — Lighthouses. — Life  Saving  Service .. .     38 

CHAPTER  VI. 

MILITARY  HISTORY. 

New  England  Confederation.— First  Indian  Troubles.— King  Philip's  War.— French 
and  Indian  Wars.- The  Revolution.— Shay's  Rebellion.— War  of  1812 62 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

MIIJTABY  HISTORY  (concluded).  PAGE 

The  cavil  War.— The  Election  of  Lincohi  and  the  Fall  of  Sumter.— The  first  Call 
for  Three- Months'  Men.— Response  from  the  Cape  Towns. — War  Meetings. — Sub- 
sequent Calls.— Bounties.-Enlistments.— Return  of  the  Volunteers.— G.  A.  R. 
Posts. — Monuments 8ft 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION. 

Packet  Lines.— Mail  Route  and  Stage  Coaches.— Railroads.— Express  Lines. — Tele- 
graph and  Cable  Lines.— The  Telephone  Service 110 

CHAPTER  IX. 

INDUSTRIAl.  RESOURCES. 

The  Fisheries. — Coasting. — Shipbuilding. — Manvifacturing. — Saltmaking. — Agricul- 
ture.— Cranberry  Culture. — Summer  Resorts. — Yachting 180 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  SOCIETY  OP  FRIENDS. 

General  View  of  the  Rise  and  Course  of  their  Principles  in  BamBtable  County.— 
The  Society  in  Sandwich.— Newell  Hoxie.— The  Society  in  Yarmouth.— David 
K.  Akin.— The  Society  in  Falmouth.— The  Dillingham  Family 157 

CHAPTER  XI. 
BENCH  AND  BAR. 

The  Judiciary  of  the  County.— First  Courts.- Formation  of  the  Province  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay. — Revision  of  the  Judiciary. — Courts  of  the  Revolutionary  Period. 
—Early  Magistrates.— Judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.— Court  of  County 
Commissioners.- Probate  Courts.— Trial  Justices.-The  Bar  of  Barnstable  County. 
—Lawyers,  Past  and  Present.- Law  Library  Association.- District  Courts 19ft 

CHAPTER  XU. 

MEDICAL  PROFESSION. 

Introduction.— Barnstable  District  Medical  Society.— Sketches  of  Physicians,  Past 
and  Present. — Medical  Examiners 221 

CHAPTER  Xin. 
LITERATTTEK  AND  LITEEARY  PEOPLE.    . 

Early  Writers.- Freeman's  History  of  Cape  Cod.— Other  Local  Works.— Poetry.— 

Fiction.— Occasional  Writers.- The  Newspapers  of  Barnstable  County 24& 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

SANDWICH. 

Location  and  Description.— Settlement  and  Early  Growth.- List  of  Inhabitants  in 
1730.— Continued  Advancement.— Firing  the  Woods.— The  Town's  Poor.— The 
Revolutionary  Period.- The  Present  Century.- Villages.— Civil  History.— 
Churches.— Schools.— Societies.— Cemeteries —Biographical  Sketches 264 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

CHAPTER  XV.  , 

BOUBNE.  PAGE 

Trading  Post  on  Monument  River. — Indian  Hamlets. — Natxiral  Features. — Land  Pur- 
chasee. — Settlement  and  Early  Events. — Formation  of  the  Second  Precinct. — 
Salt  Works. — Shipbuilding. — Early  Mills. — Ship  Canal. — Erection  of  the  Town 
of  Bourne. — Town  Affairs. — Churches. — Schools. — The  Villages  and  their  Insti- 
tutions.— Biographical  Sketches 838 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
BAENBTABLK. 

Natiiral  Features. — Early  Industries. — Settlement. — Indian  Lands  and  Names. — 
Names  of  Settlers. — Incorporation. — Purchase  from  Indians. — County  Road. — 
Early  Mills. — Common  Lands. — The  Revolution. — War  of  1812. — Population. — 
Schools. — Civil  History. — Churches. — Cemeteries  and  Villages. —  Societies. — 
Biographical  Sketches 864 

CHAPTER  XVU. 
TAKMOUTH. 

Location  and  Characteristics. — Settlement. — The  Grantees  and  Early  Settlers. — 
Early  Events  and  Customs. — The  Revolutionary  Period. — Division  of  the  Town. 
— War  of  1812. — Subsequent  Events. — Taverns  and  Hotels. — Churches. — Schools. 
— Civil  Lists. — The  Villages,  their  Industries  and  Institutions. — Biographical 
Sketches 468 

CHAPTER  XVm. 

DENNIS. 

Natural  Features. — First  Settlers  of  Nobscusset. — Incorporation. — Development. — 
Industries. — Churches. — Cemeteries. — Schools.— Civil  History. — The  Villages, 
their  Industries  and  Institutions. — Biographical  Sketches 607 

CHAPTER  XrX. 

CHATHAM. 

Natural  Features. — Settlement. — Incorporation. — Early  Town  Action. — Town  Poor. 
— Town  House.— Industries. — Ordinaries. — Lighthouses  and  Life  Saving  Sta- 
tions.— MaU  and  Express  Business. — Burying  Grounds. — Present  Condition. — 
Chtirches. — Schools.— Civil  History.- The  Villages  and  their  Institutions. — 
Biographical  Sketches 578 

CHAPTER  XX. 

FALMOUTH. 

Description. — Indians. — Settlement. — Incorporation. — Growth  and  Progress. — The 
Revolution.— Early  Industries.- War  of  1812.— Civil  War.— Subsequent  Events 
and  Present  Condition. — Civil  Lists. — Churches. — Schools. — Cemeteries. — Vil- 
lages.— Biographical  Sketches 683 

CHAPTER  XXL 
MABHFEE. 

Location  and  Description. — Natural  Feattires. — Early  Events. — Incorporation  as  a 
District. — Civil  History. — Town  of  Mashpee. —Church  tind  Parish. — Schools. — 
Mashpee  Manufacturing  Company. — Military  Service. — Some  Prominent  Repre- 
sentatives.— Industries. — Biographical  Sketches 707 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXn. 

EASTHAH.  PAGE 

Territory  of  the  Nausets.— Purchase  of  the  Lands.— Settlement  and  Incorporation 
of  Nauset.— The  Present  Town  of  Eastham.— Natural  Features.— Early  Settlers. 
— Urowth  and  Progress. —  Industries. —  Civil  History. —  Churches. —  Burying 
Places.— SchoolB.—Villages.— Biographical  Sketches. 730 

CHAPTEB  XXm. 

ORLEANS. 

Orleans  before  its  Division  from  Eastham. — Incorporation. — Natural  Featut«s. — 
Wreck  of  the  Sparrowhawk.— Roads.- Early  Settlers.— Various  Events. —Indus- 
tries.—Churches.— Cemeteries.— Schools.— Civil  History.— Villages.— Biograph- 
ical Sketches 747 

CHAPTER  XXrV. 

•  WELLFLEET. 

Formation  and  Description.- Pioneers.- Early  Town  Action.— The  Revolution. — 
War  of  1813.— The  Fisheries.-Population.— King's  Highway.— The  Eastham 
Line.—  Town  House.— ShipbuUding.— Town  Records.— Life  Saving  Station  and 
Lighthouse.- Early  Business  Interests.- Wind  Mills.— Civil  History.— Schools. — 
Churches.— Cemeteries.— Wellfleet  Village.— South  Wellfleet.— Biographical 
Sketches 787 

i  CHAPTER  XXV.        

HABWIOH. 

Incorporations-Description.— Natural  Features.— Division  of  the  Land.— The  Set- 
tlers.—The  Fisheries.- The  Salt  Industry.— Cranberry  Culture.— Religious  Soci- 
eties.— Official  History.— Schools.— The  Villages  and  their  Various  Institutions. 
—Biographical  Sketches 885 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

BREWSTER. 

Incorporation.— Natural  Features.— Purchase  and  Division  of  the  Land. — The  First 
Settlers  and  their  Families.— Industries.— Population.— The  Militia.— Religious 
Societies.— Villages.— Civil  Lists.- Meteorological  Condition.— Biographical 
Sketches 891 

CHAPTER  XXVn. 

TRURO. 

Exploration  by  the  Pilgrims.- Proprietors  of  the  Pamet  Lands.- Incorporation  of 
Truro.- Boundaries.- Natural  Feanrres.— King's  Highway.— Pounds.— Indns- 
tries.- The  Wreck  of  the  Somerset.— The  Revolution.— Oale  of  1841.— Various 
Town  Affairs.— Civil  History.— Churches.-Burying  Grounds.— Schools.-Vil- 
lages.— Biographical  Sketches. 933 

CHAPTER  XXVin. 

PROVINCETOWN. 

Early  Explorations.— The  Pilgrims.— Location  and  Characteristics.- First  Settle- 
ment.—Incorporation. — Civil  History. — Resources  of  the  Town. — Banks. — Insur- 
ance Companies.- Public  Library.— Societies.— Churches.— Schools.— Biograph- 
ical Sketches 951-1010 


CONTENTS.  IX 

ILLUSTRATIONS.  ''- 


PAGE 

Akin,  David  K Portrait  of,  facing    183 

Akin,  David  K Late  residence  of,  facing    181 

Ames.  Simeon  L Portrait  of,  facing    419 

Ancient  Grave  Stones Barnstable  Cemetery    398 

Attaquin,  Solomon Portrait  of,  facing    715 

Atwood.Levi ." "  "  607 

Atwood,  Nathaniel  E "  "  895 

Atwood,  Simeon "  "  813 

Baker.EzraH "  "  588^ 

Baker,  Howes "  "  686^ 

Baker,  Joseph  K "  "  54ft 

Baker,  Nehemiah  P "  "  67? 

Bass  River  Lower  Bridge Precedes    558 

Baxter,  Edwin Portrait  of,  facing    64? 

Bearse,  Charles  C 

Bourne,  Benjamin  F. 
Boy  den,  William  E. . . 

Brooks,  Obed 

Burgess,  Nathaniel. . . 

Burgess,  Beth  S Portrait  of ,  foUows    850 

Burgess,  Seth  S Residence  of,  precedes    861 

Bursley,  Daniel  P Portrait  of,  follows    428 

Bursley,  Daniel  P Residence  of,  precedes    428 

Cahoon,  Barzillai  C Residence  of,  facing    681 

Gaboon,  Cyrus Portrait  of,  facing    866 

Chapman,  David  S Portrait  of ,  follows    54^ 

Chapman,  Mrs.  Sallie  E Residence  of,  precedes 


42-1 
345 
808 
868 
848 


646 


Chase,  Albert Portrait  of,  facing  424 

Chase,  Job "  "  868 

Court  House *^ 

Crosby,  Albert Residence  of,  facing  915 

Crosby,  Isaac Portrait  of,  facing  916 

Crosby,  Nathan "  "  ^14 

CroweU,  Edward  E "  "  546 

CroweU,  Eleazer  K "  "  548 

CrbweU,  Joshua "  "  549 

Crowell,  Luther "  "  551 

CroweU,  Peter  H Portrait  of,  follows  553 

Crowell,  Peter  H Residence  of,  precedes  558 

CroweU,  Prince  S Portrait  of ,  facing  564 

CroweU,  Seth Portrait  of  560 

CroweU,  Rev.  Simeon Portrait  of ,  facing  492 

CroweU,  Waiiam "  "  556 


X  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Dexter  House Woods  Holl,  facing  671 

Dillingham,  John  H Portrait  of,  facing  195 

Doane,  Abiathar "               "  874 

Doane,  George  W.,  M.D "               "  225 

Doane,  John "               "  210 

Doane,  Nathaniel "               "  870 

Doane,  Oliver Portrait  of,  follows  770 

Doane,  VtQentine,  jr Residence  of,  facing  878 

Doane  Homestead  Orleans,  precedes  771 

Drew,  George  P Residence  of,  facing  877 

Edson,  Nathan Portrait  of ,  follows  428 

Edson,  Nathan Residence  of,  precedes  429 

Eldridge,  Levi Portrait  of,  facing  618 

Freeman,  Richard  R "               "  817 

Friends  Meeting  House Sandwich  175 

Friends  Meeting  House West  Falmouth  191 

Friends  Meeting  House . .  Yarmonth  181 

Fish,  Joseph  C Portrait  of,  facing  687 

Fisk,  David "                "  45 

Fisk,  Uriah  B Residence  of,  facing  558 

Ginn,  David  R.,  M.D '               "  868 

Ginn's  Bazaar Dennis  Port,  facing  86$ 

Goss,  Franklin  B Portrait  of,  facing  481 

Gould,  Samuel  H.,  M.D "               "  280 

Hamblin,  Caleb  O Portrait  of,  follows  690 

Hamblin,  Caleb  O Residence  of,  precedes  691 

Hamblin,  John  C Portrait  of,  facing  692 

Harding,  Hiram '. "               "  618 

Harding,  Joseph  C "              "  617 

Harriman,  Judge  Hiram  P "               "  212. 

Headstones,  Ancient. Barnstable  398 

Hoi  way,  David  N Portrait  of,  facing  811 

Howard,  Ezra  C "                "  356 

Howes,  Jerusha  S Residence  of,  precedes  563 

Howes,  Joshua  C Portrait  of,  facing  561 

Howes,  Levi "               "  666 

Howes,  Moses Portrait  of,  follows  562 

Howes,  Thomas  Prince Portrait  of,  facing  255 

Howes,  William  F "               "  564 

Hoxie,  Joseph "               "  ,  ,  316 

Hoxie,  Newell "               "  178 

Hoiie,  Susan  F Residence  of,  facing  175 

Hnlbert,  Chauncy  M.,  M.D Portrait  of,  facing  232 

Incorporation  Map 89 

Indian  Map 15 

lyanough  House '. 411 ' 


CONTENTS.  xi 

PAGE 

Jones,  Silas  Portrait  of,  facing  695 

Keith,  Isaac  N "               "  43 

Keith,  Isaac  N Residence  of,  facing  341 

Kelley,  Ferdinand  G Portrait  of,  facing  438 

KeUey,  Stilhnan "               <•  568 

Kelley,  Watson  B "               "  879 

Kemp,  Samuel  W "               "  818 

Kenrick,  Alfred "               "  774 

Kingman,  Seth  K "               "  777 

Leonard,  Jonathan,  M.D "               "  235 

Lighthouse,  Ruins  of Chatham  594 

Lombard,  David Portrait  of,  facing  948 

Loring,  Hiram "               "  570 

Lothrop,  Freeman  H "               "  215 

Lovell,  UjTenuB  A Residence  of,  facing  440 

Lovell,  George Portrait  of,  facing  441 

Lower  Bass  River  Bridge Precedes  553 

Makepeace,  Abel  D Portrait  of,  facing  442 

Marston,  RuBseU "               "  444 

Matthews,  David "               "  496 

Mingo,  Walter  R Residence  of,  facing  719 

Munsell,  George  N.,  M.D Portrait  of,  facing  286 

Nickerson,  Frederick "               "  '  919 

Nickerson,  Samuel  M "               "  625 

NobscuBsett  House Dennis,  facing  155 

Nye,  David  D Portrait  of,  facing  358 

Nye,  WilUam  A Residence  of,  facing  339 

Packard,  William  E Portrait  of,  facing  860 

Penniman,  Edward "               "  742 

Phinney,  Abishia "               "  700 

Rogers,  F.  A.,  M.D "               "  242 

Salt  Works,  Ruins  of South  Yarmouth  143 

"  Sandy  Side  " Yarmouth  Port,  facing  479 

Scudder,  Judge  Henry  A Portrait  of,  facing  217 

Sears,  Barnabas  (deceased) "               "  499 

Sears,  Barnabas Residence  of,  facing  484 

Sears,  John  K Portrait  of,  facing  500 

Sears,  Joshua Portrait  of,  follows  572 

Sears,  Mrs.  Minerva Residence  of,  precedes  573 

Sears,  Nathan Portrait  of,  facing  574 

Sears,  Stephen "               "  502 

Sears  Homestead ! South  Yarmouth,  facing  484 

Settlement  Map  of  Barnstable  County 39 

Shiverick,  Asa Portrait  of ,  facing  702 

Simpkins,  Nathaniel  Stone "               "  604 

Simpkins  Homestead Yarmouth  Port,  facing  480 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

SmaU,  Zebiua  H Portrait  of,  facing  886 

Smith,  Rufus ••               "  627 

Snow,  Calvin "               "  782 

Soule,  Thomas  H.,  jr Hotel  Hyannis  411 

Sparrow,  Benjamin  C,  Supt Portrait  of,  facing  59 

Swett,  James Portrait  of,  facing  828 

"  Tawasentha" Brewster,  facing  915 

Taylor,  Elisha Portrait  of,  faqing  506 

Taylor,  Joseph <<               "  786 

Tobey,  F.  B Hotel,  facing  155 

Tobey  Homestead Dennis,  facing  511 

Young,  Jonathan Portrait  of,  facing  786 


HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER  I. 


GEOLOGY    AND    TOPOGRAPHY. 


Location  and  Boundaries. — Geological  Formation. — Contour  of  the  Coast. — Surface  and 
Soil. — The  Flora  of  the  Cape. — Effect  of  the  Landscape  on  the  Character  of  the 
.Cape  Men. 


THE  peninsula  forming  the  southeastern  extremity  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  embraced  within  the  present  county  of  Barnstable,  is 
better  known  as  Cape  Cod.     It  extends  easterly  into  the  Atlantic 
forty  miles,  thence  northerly  thirty-five  miles  to  its  extremity  in  north 
latitude  42°,  4'. 

The  geographical  name  it  bears  was  first  applied  in  1602,  by  Gos- 
nold,  to  its  most  northern  portion.  Its  position,  contour  and  import- 
ance early  earned  the  sobriquet  of  "  The  Right  Arm  of  Massachusetts," 
which  it  appropriately  bears,  having  its  shoulder,  elbow,  wrist  and 
hand  symbolically  poised  over  the  deep,  as  if  beckoning  the  dispirited 
pilgrims  to  cross  over  and  rest  safely  under  the  palm;  and  pointing 
toward  Plymouth,  indicating  the  haven  where  should  be  planted  the 
seeds  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  that  should  bloom  to  the  admira- 
tion of  the  world.  It  has  Plymouth  county  and  Buzzards  bay  for  its 
western  boundary.  Vineyard  and  Nantucket  sounds  for  its  southern, 
the  ocean  for  the  eastern,  and  Cape  Cod  bay  for  the  northern  boundary, 
being  twenty  miles  in  width  across  the  shoulder,  tapering  to  eight 
at  the  elbow,  two  at  the  wrist,  and  then  widening  to  a  hand. 

Its  geological  formation  has  been  hastily  considered  by  scientific 
writers,  who  have  recorded  various  and  varying  conclusions — perhaps 
facts — which  may  be  modified  by  more  minute  researches  in  the  future 
light  of  science;  but  thus  far  the  man  who,  after  Agassiz,  knows  most 
about  the  subject,  says  that  a  great  interrogation  point  might  be 
appropriately  set  against  the  whole  topic,  to  denote  as  yet  an  unan- 
swered inquiry,  but  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  a  gentleman  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey  spent  the  past  year  on  and  about  the 
Cape,  from  whose  reports  a  valuable  and  more  conclusive  opinion  will 
1 


2  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

in  due  time  be  published  by  the  government.  It  is,  however,  conceded 
that  the  Cape  is  wholly,  or  so  far  as  yet  determined,  of  drift;  but  some 
of  the  strata  may  prove  by  future  research  to  belong  to  the  tertiary 
or  upper  mesozoic,  still  there  is  no  lithological  or  paleontological  evi- 
dence of  any  claim  to  a  position  below  the  first  division  of  the  last 
glacial  period.  The  depth  of  this  drift  was  thought,  by  Professor 
Agassiz,  to  be  forty  feet;  but  upon  the  extreme  north  end  of  the  Cape 
an  artesian  well  was  recently  sunk  140  feet  without  touching  stratified 
rock,  yet  it  is  possible  that  the  point  at  Provincetown,  where  this 
well  was  sunk,  may  have  been  extended  by  sand  deposits,  and  that 
the  body  of  the  peninsula  may  have  a  different  substrata,  j^et  unde- 
termined as  to  its  formation. 

Another  evidence  of  its  glacial  formation  is  seen  in  the  well-defined 
moraines  with  which  the  Cape  abounds,  the  most  marked  being  the 
great  central  ridge.  The  Buzzards  bay  branch  of  the  moraine  com- 
mences at  the  Elizabeth  islands  and  extends  in  a  northerly  direction 
along  the  east  side  of  the  bay  to  the  town  of  Bourne,  where  it  turns 
easterly,  continuing  along  the  northerly  side  of  the  Cape  into  Orleans; 
and  Doctor  Hitchcock  defines  the  broken  undulations  of  Truro  and 
Wellfleet  as  parts  of  a  continuous  moraine  of  a  distinctive  character. 
From  the  morainic  angle  at  Bourne,  extending  to  the  northward,  is 
the  Plymouth  moraine,  of  which  only  the  southern  continuation  per- 
tains to  this  county.  Between  Woods  HoU  and  Bourne  the  moraine 
presents  an  unbroken  line  of  ridges,  which  is  continued  east  as  far  as 
Yarmouth,  then  we  find  this  morainal  ridge  interrupted  by  gaps,  and 
in  Brewster  and  Orleans  losing  the  distinctive  morainal  characteristics 
by  the  overwashing  and  overriding  of  water  and  ice. 

The  boulders  deposited  along  and  upon  the  Buzzards  bay  and  east- 
ern moraine  are  further  evidence  of  glacial  formation.  That  of  Buz- 
zards bay  has  this  deposit  of  boulders  on  both  sides,  and  on  the  east 
and  central  they  are  more  thickly  strown  on  the  northern  face,  except 
in  the  town  of  Dennis,  where  they  were  deposited  more  along  the 
apex.  Brought  here  in  the  glittering  chariots  of  ancient  icebergs — 
those  most  wonderful,  uncommon  carriers — these  huge  masses  of 
Quincy  granite,  with  others  from  perhaps  north  of  Labrador,  left 
their  failing  vehicle  as  it  weakened  under  the  quiet  influence  of  the 
gulf  stream — that  other  most  wonderful  of  Nature's  agencies — and  so 
here  we  find  them  extending  into  Orleans  and  more  or  less  along  the 
top  of  the  ridge  the  entire  extent  of  the  moraine;  but  the  south  slope 
is  comparatively  free  from  those  of  any  significance.  Many  are 
deeply  imbedded  in  the  drift,  and  some  are  found  within  the  salt 
marshes.  Some  have  well  rounded  forms,  others  are  split,  and  still 
others  are  eroded  into  weird  shapes,  bearing  the  seeming  footprints  of 
man  and  animals  on  their  upper  surfaces.     A  large  boulder  in  the 


GEOLOGY  AND   TOPOGRAPHY.  o 

west  part  of  Brewster  is  called  Rent  rock  because  of  its  peculiar  dis- 
memberment; another  in  Eastham  is  of  suflBcient  altitude  to  be  of  use 
as  a  landmark  for  seamen;  and  the  granite  boulder  of  the  town  of 
Barnstable  has  been  perpetuated  in  history  as  the  place  of  the  first 
town  meeting  and  church  service  for  the  Puritan  settlers.  The  hard, 
blue  clay  vein  which  has  been  thought  to  underlie  the  upper  Cape, 
crops  out  near  the  great  swamp  on  the  bay  side  of  Truro,  and  running 
across  that  town  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  forms  the  clay  banks  at 
the  Highland  Light,  where  the  bluflf  shore  bank  of  almost  solid  clay 
rises  over  one  hundred  feet  above  the  tide. 

The  contour  of  the  Cape  presents  various  indentations  by  bays  and 
harbors,  with  their  intervening  bars  and  points,  which  are  more  or 
less  changing  yearly.  Accompanied  by  the  reader,  let  us  pass  around 
its  perimeter,  commencing  at  the  head  of  Buzzards  bay.  Nothing  of 
note  is  discernable  here  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  but  two  miles  south 
we  find  the  mouth  of  Monument  river,  where  the  Dutch  trading  vessels 
visited  the  post  of  the  pilgrims;  and  around  a  point  just  below  is  Back 
River  harbor — one  terminus  of  the  proposed  ship  canal.  Wenaumet 
neck  is  a  prominent  peninsula  extending  into  the  bay,  giving  protec- 
tion to  Red  Brook  harbor  on  its  south,  which  opens  into  Cataumet 
harbor,  between  Bourne  and  Falmouth.  The  indentations  along  the 
Falmouth  coast  on  the  bay  are  Wild  harbor  on  the  north  and  Hog 
island  two  miles  below.  Quisset  harbor  is  north  of  Woods  Holl,  from 
which  the  coast  runs  irregularly  southwest,  terminating  in  Long  neck, 
enclosing  Great  harbor.  The  coast  from  the  head  of  the  bay  to  Woods 
Holl  is  fringed  with  salt  marshes  of  more  or  less  extent,  the  Falmouth 
shore  being  bold  and  sandy,  with  a  distribution  of  boulders. 

In  our  course  along  the  Vineyard  sound  coast  we  find  Little  harbor 
south  of  Woods  Holl,  where  the  buoy  depot  of  the  government  is 
located,  and  here  we  also  find  the  boldest  portion  of  the  south  shore 
of  the  Cape.  The  various  ponds  and  bays  of  the  Falmouth  coast  run- 
ning far  into  the  town,  have  not  suflBcient  depth  at  their  mouths  to 
form  harbors  until  we  reach  Waquoit  bay  which,  in  high  tide,  is  used 
by  vessels  of  light  draught.  Eastward,  around  the  sandy  shore  of 
Mashpee,  is  Popponesset  bay,  the  dividing  line  between  that  town 
and  Barnstable — a  bay  used  for  small  shipping  and  enclosing  Little 
and  Great  necks  of  Mashpee.  Around  the  neck  comprising  that  part 
of  Barnstable  known  as  Cotuit  we  find  on  the  east  side,  Cotiiit  bay, 
enclosing  Oyster  island  and  opening  into  Great  bay,  which  is  further 
inland.  New  harbor.  Squaw  island  and  Hyannis  harbor  complete  the 
south  coast  of  Barnstable  in  its  circuitous  course  easterly,  the  latter 
harbor  opening  into  Lewis  bay,  which  is  safe  and  commodious,  with 
Point  Gammon  for  its  protection  on  the  south.  This  coast  is  low  and 
sandy,  undergoing  frequent  change,  and   Dog-fish   bar  has  formed, 


4  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

extending  several  miles  eastward  to  opposite  the  Bass  River  harbor, 
between  Yarmouth  and  Dennis.  The  bays  and  coves  of  Bass  river 
form  anchorage  for  fishing  vessels,  and  the  harbor  at  its  mouth  is 
important.  The  bays  along  the  coast  of  Dennis  and  Harwich  are 
inconsiderable,  yet  by  the  southward  bend  of  Harding's  beach  on  the 
Chatham  coast  and  the  southwestern  extension  of  Monomoy  point 
these  towns  have  ample  anchorage.  East  of  the  beach  named  is  Stage 
harbor,  spreading  its  arms  into  the  town  of  Chatham,  all  of  which 
have  safe  anchorage  inside  when  the  bar  across  the  mouth  is  safely 
passed  at  high  water. 

The  elbow  of  the  Cape,  at  Chatham,  is  perhaps  subjected  to  more 
changes  from  shifting  sands  than  other  points.  New  shores  and  bars 
form  and  disappear  by  the  action  of  the  waters  of  the  ocean  and  sound, 
which  are  here  at  right  angles.  Monomoy,  extending  several  miles 
toward  Nantucket,  has  been  greatly  enlarged  by  the  filling  of  the  salt 
marsh  along  its  western  edge,  and  the  southern  extremity  is  gradually 
extending  by  these  accumulations,  this  beach  now  being  several  miles 
in  length  and  one-half  mile  or  more  in  width.  Through  this  beach,  in 
1807,  when  the  first  light  was  erected  in  Chatham,  was  an  entrance  for 
vessels  to  a  safe  anchorage  within,  which  has  been  since  practically 
destroyed.  The  Yarmouth  Register  of  November  7,  1874,  speaks  of 
the  ravages  of  old  ocean  here  as  removing  three-fourths  of  a  mile  in 
length  from  Nauset  beach,  of  its  washing  away  in  1872  two  hundred 
feet  in  length  of  the  government  landing,  and  of  further  ravages  in 
1873,  which  necessitated  the  removal  of  government  buildings  and 
private  residences.  The  shore  of  Chatham  is  a  sandy  bluff  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  until  we  reach  Old  harbor  at  North  Chatham,  where, 
about  the  middle  of  the  century,  the  sea  broke  through  the  outer 
beach,  reopened  a  former  navigable  channel,  which,  after  a  very  few 
years,  was  again  filled  with  sand.  The  mouth  of  Pleasant  bay,  between 
Chatham  and  Orleans,  formerly  admitted  large  vessels,  which  now 
its  shallowness  precludes.  Continuing  north  we  pass  the  high, 
unbroken,  sandy  beach  of  Orleans,  arriving  at  Nauset  harbor,  where 
navigation  is  also  now  impeded  by  drifting  sands.  Here  was  carried 
far  inland  by  storm  the  English  vessel  to  whose  passengers  the  people 
of  Plymouth  gave  aid.  From  this  harbor  northward  along  the  east 
shore  of  Wellfleet,  Truro  and  Provincetown  the  bold,  sandy  shore 
is  unbroken  by  bays  until  we  reach  Race  Point  neck.  Passing  the 
islands  and  doubling  Long  Point  neck,  we  find  a  harbor  gradually  fill- 
ing with  sand,  although  the  government  has  made  liberal  appropria- 
tions for  its  preservation,  and  the  commonwealth  has  enacted  penal 
laws  for  the  protection  of  the  trees  that  lessen  the  ravages.  In  1850 
the  legislature  of  the  state  called  the  attention  of  congress  to  the 
continual   drifting  of   the   sand   and    the   gradual   abrasion   of   the 


GEOLOGY   AND   TOPOGRAPHY.  5 

beach,  which,  if  allowed  to  continue,  must  effectually  destroy  the 
harbor. 

The  only  considerable  opening  along  the  west  coast  of  Truro  is 
East  harbor,  in  the  north  part  of  that  town,  as  we  commence  our  sur- 
vey southward  on  the  west  shore.  In  the  south  part,  near  Truro  vil- 
lage, at  the  mouth  of  Pamet  river  is  a  small  harbor,  and  along  the 
coast  of  Wellfleet  we  find  Duck  harbor,  but  not  until  we  have  passed 
the  islands  outside  of  Wellfleet  harbor  do  we  find  anchorage  for  ves- 
sels of  any  tonnage,  and  here  in  a  land-locked  haven.  Wellfleet  harbor 
is  the  largest  on  the  bay  side  of  the  Cape,  having  Duck  and  Black-fish 
creeks  emptying  into  it,  both  forming  other  harbors  of  lesser  capacity. 
Along  the  coast  of  Eastham  we  find  some  saltmar.<;h  around  the  mouth 
of  Herring  river  and  to  the  southward,  but  no  harbors  of  importance. 
The  short  stretch  of  Orleans  situate  on  the  bay  has  very  small  open- 
ings at  Rock  harbor  and  Namskaket  and  a  wide,  sandy  beach,  which 
is  continued  along  the  north  coast  of  Brewster,  with  high  uplands  a 
short  distance  inland.  The  mouth  of  another  Herring  brook  near 
Quivet  creek  presents  the  only  indentation  along  the  Brewster  shore 
beyond  the  small  curvatures.  Sesuet  harbor  and  Nobscusset  being 
passed  on  the  Dennis  coast,  we  arrive  at  Bass  hole,  where,  with  a  small 
harbor,  commences  the  salt  marsh  which  fringes  the  short  shore'  line, 
of  Yarmouth,  extending  along  the  south  side  of  Barnstable  harbor 
and  terminating  in  the  Great  marshes.  Sandy  neck  extends  easterly 
from  Scorton,  in  Sandwich,  nearly  across  the  town  of  Barnstable,  ter- 
minating about  one  mile  from  the  coast  of  Yarmouth,  between  which 
points  we  find  the  mouth  of  the  harbor.  Along  the  only  sea  coast  of 
Sandwich  we  find  Scorton  neck,  Scorton  harbor.  Spring  hill,  Sandwich 
and  Scusset  harbors,  with  a  low,  marshy  beach.  Passing  along  the 
short  extent  of  beach  belonging  to  the  town  of  Bourne,  which  has  no 
indentations,  we  reach  Peaked  cliff,  the  northern  terminus  of  the 
boundary  line  between  Plymouth  and  Barnstable  counties,  which  line 
passes  southwesterly  across  the  foot  of  Herring  pond  to  the  point  from 
whence  began  our  journey  of  observation. 

The  peculiar  position  of  the  Cape,  extending  far  out  from  the 
general  line  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  greatly  impedes  and  endangers 
navigation,  and  this  fact  is  intensified  by  the  drifting  sands  which  are 
so  constantly  changing  and  re-forming  shoals.  Notwithstanding  the 
several  lighthouses  on  its  points,  lightships  on  the  outer  bars,  the 
many  carefully  placed  buoys  and  the  constant  vigils  of  the  govern- 
ment ofl&cials,  the  Cape  and  its  vicinity,  more  than  any  other  on  the 
Atlantic  coast,  is  the  dread  of  the  mariner. 

The  consideration  of  the  surface  and  soil  of  the  county,  than  which 
no  physical  features  have  been  more  changed,  would  naturally  con- 
clude this  chapter.     The  condition  of  the  Cape  when  first  seen  by 


6  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Gosnold  in  1602,  was  sandy  shores,  bluffs  inland  and  thickly  wooded. 
The  pilgrims,  after  anchoring  in  Cape  Cod  harbor,  found  "  it  was  com- 
passed about  to  the  very  sea  with  oaks,  pines,  juniper,  sassafras  and 
other  sweet  wood."  Here  are  the  huge  stumps  whose  trees  a  century 
and  a  half  ago  gave  reason  for  the  locality  name — Wood  End,  and 
along  the  bay  coast  of  Dennis  and  far  out  in  the  receding  sands  may 
be  seen  the  stumps  and  the  'remains  of  fallen  trunks  of  giant  trees, 
black  with  decay;  and  no  one  knows  how  long  they  have  been  pre- 
served by  the  saline  qualities  of  the  water,  or  when  or  how  they  were 
felled.  The  coasts  of  other  towns,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  reveal 
a  similar  condition  of  the  primeval  forests.  That  the  entire  Cape  was 
once  a  noble  forest  there  can  be  little  or  no  question. 

The  surface  is  diversified  with  undulations  of  varied  heights  and 
depths— the  uplands  mostly  covered  with  small  pines  and  oaks,  and 
the  depressions  with  ponds  of  fresh  water,  of  which  but  few  have  a 
a  visible  inlet  or  outlet.  It  is  estimated  that  the  area  of  the  Cape 
ponds  exceeds  thirty -seven  thousand  acres.  The  174  more  important 
ones,  containing  over  fifteen  square  miles,  or  about  one-fourth  the 
total  pond  area,  are  noticed  by  name  in  the  town  chapters  following. 
Of  these  Bourne  has  fifteen,  covering  356  acres;  Sandwich  seven,  of 
616  acres;  Falmouth  sixteen,  688;  Mash  pee  six,  1,420;  Barnstable 
twenty-seven,  1,706;  Yarmouth  fifteen,  564;  Dennis  twelve,  441;  Brews- 
ter twenty-five,  2,093;  Harwich  ten,  435;  Chatham  thirteen,  280;  Or- 
leans five,  213;  Eastham  five,  223;  Wellfleet  six,  225;  Truro  five,  108; 
and  Provincetown  seven  ponds,  aggregating  255  acres.  The  salt 
ponds  connected  with  the  extensive  line  of  coast,  together  with  the 
bays,  the  coves,  and  the  small  fresh  water  ponds  without  name  and 
almost  without  number,  would  greatly  increase  the  area.  Salt' 
marshes  fringe  the  coasts,  the  largest  being  the  great  marshes  of 
Barnstable.  The  reclamation  of  these  has  been  advocated  and  the 
experiment  tried  in  every  generation;  and  more  than  once  has  the 
legislature  granted  corporate  powers  to  those  who  thought  the  result 
attainable.  These  marshes  are  flooded  twice  a  day  at  high  tide,  and 
when  fairly  green  are  as  beautiful  as  a  well-kept  lawn.  In  time,  as 
the  marshes  gather,  the  soil  becomes  higher  and  firmer,  the  grass 
finer,  and  the  product  is  highly  valued  for  the  cattle,  as  salt  hay.  Of 
these  salt  meadows  a  considerable  portion  has  been  converted  to  the 
production  of  English  hay  by  the  generations  of  this  century. 

Even  the  surface  of  the  Cape  has  undergone  changes  that  hardly 
seem  credible.  Captain  Southack  in  1717,  who,  as  a  government 
agent,  was  sent  out  to  search  for  the  pirate  ship  Whida,  wrecked  on 
the  back  side  of  the  Cape,  made  a  map  of  a  channel  across  from  sea  to 
sea  as  it  then  existed  nearly  on  the  line  between  Orleans  and  East- 
ham;   and  on  this  channel  he  marked  a  whaleboat  with    this  note: 


GEOLOGY   AND   TOPOGRAPHY.  7 

"The  place  where  I  came  through  with  a  whaleboat,  being  ordered 
by  ye  government  to  look  after  ye  pirate  ship  Whida,  Bellame  com- 
mander, cast  away  ye  26th  of  April  1717,  where  I  buried  one  hundred 
and  two  men  drowned."  It  is  generally  accepted  that  this  channel 
was  made  by  that  gale,  and  the  early  records  show  that  it  required  a 
general  turnout  of  the  people  and  great  labor  to  close  it.  Other  low 
and  narrow  places  have  been  similarly  changed  by  great  storms. 
During  the  severe  storm  of  1872,  not  only  was  a  deep,  wide  channel 
cut  through  the  outer  beach  opposite  the  Chatham  light,  but  the  gov- 
ernment property  was  washed  out  ninety  feet  inland  to  a  depth  of 
thirty  feet,  unearthing  a  peat  bog  in  which,  around  a  large  stump, 
were  the  tracks  of  six  human  beings.  George  Eldridge,  the  hydro- 
grapher,  described  these  tracks  as  of  different  sizes  and  says  that  tufts 
of  coarse  animal  hair  had  been  impressed  into  the  clayey  surface  of 
the  soil  near  the  stump,  upon  which  were  other  tufts  where  the  animal 
had  rubbed.     The  spot  was  soon  again  covered  with  drifting  sands. 

Of  the  fifteen  towns  comprising  the  county,  Chatham  and  Province- 
town  are  the  most  affected  by  the  sands  from  wind  and  wave;  but  Or- 
leans, Eastham,  Wellfleet  and  Truro  experience  more  or  less  of  these 
changes,  and  the  upper  towns  are  not  entirely  free  from  them.  The 
denuded  knolls  that  generations  ago  were  well  timbered,  have  been 
exposed  to  the  ravages  of  heavy  winds,  blowing  the  finer  and  better 
soil  into  the  bogs  and  depressions,  or  into  the  salt  marshes  and  har- 
bors, thus  perceptibly  changing  the  surface.  To  save  the  harbors  and 
retain  the  soil,  public  and  private  efforts  have  been  turned  to  planting 
the  uplands  with  forest  trees,  which  labor  is  being  crowned  with  suc- 
cess. 

The  soil  is  diversified  with  portions  alluvial  and  others  diluvial, 
and  once  the  surface  was  richly  covered  with  vegetable  mould;  but 
the  sand,  cut  adrift  from  its  fibrous  moorings  and  the  long  cultivation 
of  the  virgin  soil  without  the  return  of  an  honest  equivalent,  has 
greatly  reduced  its  fertility.  It  is  still  largely  productive  in  every 
way  by  later  and  better  methods  of  compensating  in  some  way  for  the 
depreciation  caused  by  successive  crops,  as  is  now  practised  in  every 
county  where  agriculture  is  successful.  The  upper  towns  of  the  Cape 
have  more  or  less  loam  and  clay  in  their  soils,  which  are  consequently 
stronger,  while  the  lower  towns  have  a  lighter  soil  but  as  productive 
under  proper  cultivation.  About  the  creeks,  marshes  and  swamps  are 
found  rich  deposits  sufficient  to  make  the  entire  county  more  pro- 
ductive than  are  some  so-called  agricultural  counties  of  the  Common- 
wealth. The  later  generations  have  learned  this,  and  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent  are  availing  themselves  of  these  superior  advantages. 
Hundreds  of  acres  of  valuable  cranberry  bogs,  fine  vegetable  gardens, 
and  luxurious  meadows  have  been  redeemed  within  the  last  half  cen- 


8  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

tury,  and  hundreds  more  are  resting  in  their  native  sloughs,  waiting 
for  utilization  by  the  application  of  the  adjoining  sand  bank.  These 
improvements  have  only  commenced,  and  the  Cape,  with  its  thousands 
of  acres  of  valuable  lowlands  and  millions  of  tons  of  virgin  sand,  is 
susceptible  of  still  further  development. 

The  clay  vein  of  Truro,  running  across  the  Cape  and  cropping  out 
on  the  bay  side  near  the  Great  swamp,  is  an  exception  to  the  general 
character  of  the  soil.  The  bank  there  is  filled  with  pounds  in  which 
the  water  lodges  and  is  held  by  the  firm  clay. 

The  peninsular  character  of  the  Cape  has  distinguished  it  during 
all  historic  time;  but  it  is  entirely  plausible  that  in  geologic  time  it 
had  a  more  continental  character.  Off  the  south  shore  of  Barnstable, 
where  is  now  a  channel  two  miles  wide,  separating  Bishop  and  Clerk's 
light  from  the  land,  was  once  a  sheep  pasture  through  which  only  a 
small  creek  flowed,  and  within  the  period  of  our  own  colonial  history 
the  Nantucket  farmers  cut  fencing  on  an  island  seven  miles  off  Chat- 
ham,where  now  the  rushing,  restless  tide  has  undisputed  sway.  Ram 
island,  where  many  of  the  present  residents  of  Chatham  have  repaired 
for  frolic  and  berries,  has  gone  down  in  the  unequal  strife  and  the 
sullen  sea  sweeps  over  a  spot  where  the  Vikings  dwelt  eight  cen- 
turies ago — the  spot  which  was  still  inhabitable  when  in  1620  Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert  noted  it  as  Nauset  island.  If  the  physical  charac- 
ter of  this  peninsula  has  been  thus  modified  by  the  Titanic  war  which 
old  ocean — so  old  and  sc  busy — has  forever  waged  upon  it,  not  less 
important  upon  its  animal  and  vegetable  life  has  been  the  effect  of 
what  Michalet,  in  his  La  Mer,  calls  the  tyrannj'  of  the  sea.* 

Every  Cape  woodland  shows  the  effect  of  this  strife,  and  whole 
forests  have  been  bent  by  the  prevailing  winds.  This  fact,  to  wit,  an 
incessant  struggle  of  elements,  is  the  best  type  of  the  Cape  life  as  it 
has  been  and  is,  and  is  what  has  colored  the  Cape  character. 

The  botany  of  the  Cape  is  as  unique  as  its  geology.  Here  again 
the  sea  has  been  master — yet  also  a  conveyancer  of  beauty  and  fate 
to  the  flowers.  We  may  not  pause  here  to  divide  the  imported  flow- 
ers from  those  indigenous  to  our  soil.  The  pilgrims  were  English- 
men and  long  remained  so.  They,  or  their  wives,  brought  here  many 
of  the  old  English  flowers:  holley,  Canterbury  bells,  lilacs,  Aaron's 
rod,  box,  bouncing  Bettys',  and  above  all  "  the  Pilgrim  rose,"  which 
after  all  our  modern  horticulture,  still  abides  as  the  peer  of  the  best; 
for  the  sea  hightens  color  in  the  rose's  petals  as  well  as  the  maid's 
cheek.  But  the  sea  has  brought  here  more  flower  seeds  than  ever  the 
Mayflower  and  her  sister  ships  since  the  landing  at  Plymouth. 

*The  remainder  of  this  chapter  is  contributed  by  the  Rev.  N.  H.  Chamberlain  of 
Bourne,  a  native  of  the  Cape,  who  has  delivered  a  very  popular  lecture  on  the  topic 
here  briefly  considered. — Ed. 


GEOLOGY   AND   TOPOGRAPHY.  9 

It  may  be  stated  in  the  rough,  that  the  Cape  flora  is  divided  by  its 
central  hill  range  into  two  great  divisions;  that  the  flowers  on  the 
south  side  are  more  intimately  connected  with  those  in  the  latitude 
of  Norfolk,  Va.,  than  with  their  neighbors  across  the  ridge,  and  that 
the  same  or  equal  intimacy  exists  between  the  flora  of  the  Cape,  north 
side,  and  that  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  The  sea  currents  did  it.  Of 
course  the  trailing  arbutus  or  "  May  flower,"  as  our  people  call  it,  is 
the  local  flower  of  the  Cape.  This  flower  is  found  indeed,  widely 
scattered  over  the  temperate  zone,  but  here  and  in  the  Plymouth 
woods  it  attains  its  maximum  of  purity  and  grace.  For  all  fat  garden 
flowers  necessarily  lower  their  colors  in  these  respects,  to  the  wild 
ones.  They  difl^er  very  much  as  a  vestal  does  from  an  ordinary 
woman  of  fashion.  For  if  flowers  be  the  smile  of  the  good  God,  that 
smile  in  flowers  must  be  the  noblest,  which  best  symbolizes  the  lofti- 
est virtues.  Every  traveler  who  had  eyes  to  see,  has  remarked  the 
very  delicate  and  spiritualized  look  and  structure  of  nearly  all  the 
flowers  of  the  upper  Alps;  as  if  their  very  struggle  for  life  with  their 
adverse  circumstance  had  given  them  a  higher  life  and  form  of 
beauty.  What  the  glacier  and  snow  peaks  are  to  the  Swiss  flowers, 
that,  as  water  also,  the  sea  is  to  the  Cape  flowers.  They  have  also 
the  strife  for  life  and  they  too  are  made  perfect  through  suffering. 
The  Cape  Codder  in  his  travels  may  pick  "  May  flowers  "  in  their  sea- 
son, in  almost  any  wood  of  our  zone,  but  he  will  miss  not  a  little  of 
the  Cape  virginity  and  above  all  the  circumstance  of  the  Cape  flower 
itself — the  grey  mosses  holding  up  its  flower  clusters  a  little  toward 
the  sun — mosses  which  seem  the  fringe  and  raiment  of  eternity  over 
the  eternal  breast  of  Earth,  mother  of  flowers  and  men — the  cold  sea 
chill  of  the  wind  on  shore;  and  as  he  holds  her  flowers  to  look  at 
them,  his  eyes  cannot  but  wander  far  off  to  the  Cape  sea,  grey,  turbu- 
lent, white  crested,  which  like  the  voice  of  "  the  other  world  "  breaks 
in  its  mighty  monotone  upon  the  desolate  shore. 

Here  lie  the  secret  ties,  which  often  unknown  to  him  bind  many  a 
Cape  man  to  his  province;  sharp  contrasts  in  scenery  everywhere;  the 
sea  in  storm,  and  the  inland  lakes  and  ponds  among  the  hills,  with 
their  white  strands  circling  their  placid  waters,  where  the  sea  birds 
rest  in  their  spring  or  autumn  passage,  north  and  south;  the  rude  and 
boisterous  wind,  and  to-morrow  the  gentlest  sunshine  on  the  south 
hill  slope  where  the  first  violets  and  anemones  appear;  the  ever 
changing  tides  and  the  fixed  hills,  with  the  forest  watching  as  a  sen- 
tinel who  never  leaves  his  post;  and  two  forms  of  solitude — the  soli- 
tude of  the  sea  shore  and  of  the  wilderness,  so  diverse  at  least  in  form 
and  yet  both  ministrants,  in  a  religious  way,  to  a  sensitive  nature. 
He  may  enter  the  one  only  for  seaweed  and  the  other  for  a  load  of 
cord  wood,  but  his  circumstance  remains  unique,  whether  he  knows  it 


T-O  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

or  not.  This  is  why  the  Cape  man  abroad  misses  somewhat  out  of 
the  landscape.  The  rose  is  not  the  same  elsewhere.  The  spring  in 
the  Rocky  mountains  may  show  water  as  pellucid  as  any  at  a  hill  foot 
here  and  the  sand  through  which  it  throbs  may  be  as  white,  but  the 
mosses  at  the  brim  and  the  ferns  which  mirror  their  fragility  in  those 
"  living  waters  "  will  not  be  there.  It  may  be  provincial  for  the  Ice- 
lander, the  Switzer  and  the  Cape  Codder  to  hold,  each,  that  his  own 
land  is  the  fairest  on  which  the  sun  shines,  yet  they  each  hold  to  it 
and  for  much  the  same  reasons.  Their  land  is  very  much  unlike  any 
other. 

The  scenery  of  the  Cape  is  both  unique  and  full  of  variety,  circled 
by  the  sea  and  the  forest,  for  after  all  the  sea  is  the  great  master 
mechanician  of  the  Cape  landscape.  It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that 
it  has  determined  very  largely  the  manners  and  the  occupations,  at 
least  of  the  old  Cape  Cod.  "  Life,"  says  Emerson,  "  is  by  water 
courses."  It  may  be  ventured  to  say  that  liberty  is  by  the  sea.  Great 
distances  enfranchise;  great  altitudes  enslave.  "The  Alps,"  .says 
Longfellow,  "are  a  poor  place  for  a  sad  heart  to  go  to."  At  Grindel- 
wald  or  Lauterbrunnen  one  feels  in  the  grey  prison  house  of  Eternity 
and  as  naught.  For  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  or  so  the  sea  has  lain 
open  here  to  the  venture  of  any  man  who  dared  it,  and  was  and  is,  a 
highway  for  him  to  the  ends  of  the  world.  The  majestic  orbit  of  its 
horizon  has  been  ever  tempting  him  to  try  what  was  beyond— to  come 
out  of  himself  and  become  a  greater  self  at  sea  or  on  shore.  Of  stock 
which  has  no  servile  blood  in  it,  the  Cape  man  of  the  genuine  breed 
has  become  one  of  the  most  independent  men  on  earth.  His  own  will 
runs  even  into  a  private  burying  ground  for  him  and  his. 

As  one  face  of  this  same  independence  is  the  man's  curious  self- 
reliance.  He  will  undertake,  if  the  wages  satisfy,  to  carve  a  bust  of 
Jupiter  or  oversee  a  factory  where  they  manufacture  moonshine. 
Only  he  will  be  thrifty  enough  not  to  take  any  stock.  He  respects 
the  sea  with  which  he  struggles,  and  himself  as  well.  He  thinks  he 
knows  how  to  rig  and.  sail  a  boat  and  is  a  very  careful  pilot  at  the 
helm.  If  his  wagon  was  in  the  mire  he  would  never  pray  to  Hercules 
to  help,  until  he  had  put  his  best  shoulder  to  the  wheel.  But  if  there 
was  no  start  and  he  a  religious  man,  he  would  then  pray  as  lustily  as 
the  best,  and  if  he  were  not  religious  he  would  probably  sit  down 
under  a  tree  and  smoke  his  pipe,  revolving  whether  there  was  any 
God  or  whether  it  would  pay  him  to  buy  another  cart. 

Here  lies  the  reason  why  so  many  Cape  men  have  been  successful 
business  men.  Their  youth  was  a  struggle  with  the  soil  and  with  the 
sea.  They  toughened  with  the  toil,  Spartan  and  frugal.  When  they 
went  among  other  men  they  were  well  armed  with  frugality  and  self- 
reliance,  and  inferior  men  became  as  clay  to  their  foresight  and 
dominancy. 


GEOLOGY  AND  TOPOGRAPHY.  11 

In  much  then  that  is  formative  in  human  character  the  Cape  land- 
scape has  lent  itself  to  make  the  Cape  man  free,  self-reliant,  frugal 
and  indomitable.  It  has  bred  in  him  pluck  and  luck.  The  obligation 
he  is  under  to  his  native  province  he  is  apt  to  fulfill  by  his  life-long 
affection  for  the  Cape.  The  Cape  colors  him  all  his  life,  the  root  and 
fiber  of  him.  He  may  get  beyond  but  he  never  gets  over  the  Cape. 
Make  him  a  merchant  at  Manilla  or  Calcutta,  a  whaler  at  the  North 
Pole,  a  mate  in  Australian  waters,  a  millionaire  on  Fifth  avenue,  a 
farmer  in  Minnesota,  and  the  Cape  sticks  to  him  still.  He  will  feel 
in  odd  hours  to  his  life's  end,  the  creek  tide  on  which  he  floated 
ashore  as  a  boy,  the  hunger  of  the  salt  marsh  in  haying  time,  the  cold 
splash  of  the  sea  spray  at  the  harbor's  mouth,  the  spring  of  the  boat 
over  the  bar  where  he  came  home  from  fishing  with  the  wind  rising 
on  shore  out  of  the  grey  night  clouds  seaward,  the  blast  of  the  wet 
northeaster  in  the  September  morning,  when  under  the  dripping 
branches  he  picked  up  the  windfall  of  golden  and  crimson  apples,  the 
big  flaked  snow  of  the  December  night  when  he  beaued  his  first 
sweetheart  home  from  singing  school;  and  he  will  see  in  dreams,  per- 
haps, the  trailing  arbutus  among  its  grey  mosses,  on  the  thin  edge  of 
a  spring  snow  bank,  the  bubbling  spring  at  the  hill  foot  near  tide 
water,  the  fat  crimson  roses  under  his  mother's  window,  with  a  clump 
of  Aaron's  rod  or  lilac  for  background;  the  yellow  dawn  of  an  Octo- 
ber morning  across  his  misty  moors,  and  the  fog  of  the  chill  pond 
among  the  pine  trees,  and  above  all  the  blue  sea  within  its  headlands, 
on  which  go  the  white  winged  ships  to  that  great  far  off  world  which 
the  boy  has  heard  of  and  the  grown  man  knows  so  well. 


CHAPTER  II. 


INDIAN   HISTORY. 


Origin.— Manners.— Customs.— Religion.— Cape  Indians.— Their  Villages.— Their  Tribes. 
— Map. — Kindness. — Subjugation. — Decrease. — Extinction. — Legends. 


THE  history  of  this  county  may  be  regarded  as  beginning  with  its 
settlement  by  Europeans,  or  in  those  diplomatic  relations 
between  their  governments  and  the  adventurers  who  sought  to 
control  the  prospective  settlements  within  it ;  yet  we  may  concern 
ourselves  somewhat  with  a  mention  of  those  ill-fated  Indians  whom 
the  Puritans  found  here,  and  whose  extermination  as  a  people  was  so 
speedily  accomplished. 

Scientists  of  every  age  and  country  have  advanced  ideas  concern- 
ing their  origin  ;  but  as  they  never  had  a  written  language  the  truth 
of  these  propositions  must  remain  in  darkness.  That  they  have  been 
called  Indians  since  their  existence  became  known  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  ancient  navigators  supposed  that  America  formed  a  part  of  the 
East  Indies. 

Tradition,  current  among  the  Indians,  throws  little  or  no  light  on 
their  origin.  They  generally  believed  that  they  sprang  from  the 
earth.  In  one  tradition  they  have  been  represented  as  having 
climbed  up  the  roots  of  a  large  vine  from  the  interior  of  the  globe, 
and  in  others  as  ascending  from  a  cavern  to  the  light  of  the  sun.  At 
an  early  day  some  of  the  Indians  still  retained  indistinct  traditions  of 
crossing,  a  body  of  water  to  reach  this  land  ;  and  others  that  they 
originally  dwelt  in  a  land  across  a  narrow  lake  where  wicked  people 
dwelt,  that  the  lake  was  full  of  islands,  and  they  suffered  with  cold 
while  crossing.  Curious  remains  are  extant  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  showing  that  the  original  dwellers  here  had  rare  mechanical 
skill,  which  they  had  not  lost  by  the  allurements  of  a  wild  forest  life. 
These  evidences,  more  especially  confined  to  the  western  portion  of 
America,  are  a  vindication  of  the  theory  that  the  land  was  first 
peopled  by  the  way  of  Behring  strait ;  also,  that  less  civilized  bands 
■drove  them  east  and  south — or  they,  in  themselves,  became  more  in 
love  with  forest  life,  scattering  and  multiplying  until  the  whole  land 
was  peopled.     Some  historians  trace  the  Indians  to  the  ten  lost  tribes 


INDIAN   HISTORY.  13 

of  Israel,  some  to  the  dispersion  from  Babel,  some  to  the  enterprising 
Phoenician  sailors,  and  others  to  the  Carthagenians ;  but  of  all  these 
theories,  that  of  their  coming  from  the  Eastern  continent  across  the 
straits  to  North  America  seems  the  most  acceptable.  While  their 
race  was  distinct  from  all  European  peoples,  in  customs,  personal 
appearance  and  language,  yet  they  closely  resembled  each  other  and 
had  many  customs  in  common,  although  the  several  tribes  found  here 
by  the  Europeans  were  more  generally  distinguished  from  each  other 
by  the  difference  in  their  languages.  Each  tribe  had  a  name  for 
whatever  could  be  heard,  seen  or  felt,  and  except  these  but  few  words 
were  used. 

The  same  characteristics  prevailed  in  the  Indians  on  the  Cape  that 
were  found  in  other  tribes,  and  if  any  difference  existed  in  minor 
peculiarities  it  would  be  logically  attributable  to  climatic  differences 
and  their  habits  of  life  and  employments,  varying  with  the  food  sup- 
plies of  mountain  or  valley,  stream  or  seashore.  Some  were  better 
agriculturists  than  others,  and  raised  more  corn  than  their  neighbors. 
The  Pilgrims  found  at  Truro  fifty  acres  under  cultivation.  The  labor 
of  raising  corn  devolved  upon  the  women,  or  squaws,  for  all  tribes 
concurred  in  the  idea  that  labor  was  degrading  and  beneath  the  dig- 
nity of  a  warrior.  The  women  provided  the  wood,  erected  wigwams, 
carried  the  burdens,  prepared  the  meals,  and  even  carried  baggage 
on  the  march. 

A  regular  union  between  husband  and  wife  was  universal,  but  a 
chief  of  sufficient  ability  to  support  such  a  luxury  married,  often, 
more  than  one  wife.  The  ceremony  of  marriage  was  very  simple,  and 
differed  in  minor  details  in  different  tribes. 

The  education  of  the  young  warrior  was  in  athletic  exercises,  to 
enable  him  to  endure  hunger  and  fatigue,  and  to  use  arms  efficiently. 
In  some  families  certain  young  were  impressed  with  the  tradition  of 
their  people,  which  task  devolved  upon  the  old,  who  in  turn  had 
received  their  knowledge  from  preceding  ones. 

The  weapons  were  rude — stone  hatchets,  clubs,  bows,  arrows  and 
.spears.  War  was  their  delight,  and  their  cruelties  to  enemies  when 
death  was  decreed  were  only  equalled  by  their  kindness  when  they 
turned  their  tribal  affection  to  the  adopted  ones. 

They  had  a  religion,  primitive  though  it  seems,  that  closely  resem- 
bled that  of  civilized  nations.  They  believed  in  a  great  spirit,  and 
reverenced  him ;  believed  he  was  everywhere  present,  knew  their 
wants,  and  aided  and  loved  those  who  obeyed  him.  They  had  no 
temples  nor  idols.  They  believed  the  warrior  hastened  to  the  happy 
hunting  grounds.  They  also  had  an  evil  spirit,  which  good  Indians 
should  shun.  The  graves  of  their  fathers  were  held  in  reverence,  and 
were  defended  with  great  bravery.    To  the  restraints  of  civilization 


14  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

they  long  showed  an  aversion,  and  were  remarkably  attached  to  their 
simple  modes  of  life. 

Whether  the  differences  in  complexion,  stature,  features,  customs, 
religions,  or  any  peculiarities,  were  caused  by  climate  or  any  latitud- 
inal separations,  one  thing  seems  conceded  by  historians — that  they 
were  of  one  origin.  Doctor  Mather  regarded  them  as  forlorn  and 
wretched  heathen  ever  since  they  first  landed  here ;  and  "  though  we 
know  not  when  or  how  they  first  became  inhabitants  of  this  mighty 
continent,  yet  we  may  guess  that  probably  the  devil  decoyed  them 
hither,  hoping  the  gospel  would  never  reach  them  to  disturb  or 
■destroy  his  absolute  empire  over  them." 

There  were  several  tribes  on  the  Cape,  and  all  evidence  from  the 
colony  records,  from  the  time  they  were  first  visited  by  Europeans, 
points  to  their  remarkable  friendliness  to  the  whites  and  to  each  other. 

An  early  instance  of  the  white  man's  abuse  of  their  confidence  is 
the  shameless  record  of  Thomas  Hunt,  who  in  161fi,  as  a  subordinate 
left  in  command,  of  Captain  John  Smith's  ship,  kidnapped  twenty- 
seven  of  the  natives,  including  seven  from  Nauset,  to  sell  as  slaves. 
This  act  was  not  without  precedent,  and  after  it  had  been  avenged 
four  years  later  upon  some  of  the  same  crew,  the  Indian  sense  of  just- 
ice seems  to  have  been  satisfied.  In  their  subsequent  intercourse  with 
the  pilgrims  they  performed  acts  of  mercy  that  could  only  be  expected 
of  true  Christian  disciples. 

The  Indians  of  the  Cape,  made  up  of  several  small  tribes,  were 
among  the  thirty  of  New  England  yielding  allegiance  to  Massasoit, 
the  chief  of  the  Wampanoags,  and  after  his  death  in  1662  to  his  son, 
Metacomet,  known  in  history  as  King  Philip,  or  Philip  of  Pokanoket. 

Of  these  the  Nausets  occupied  the  most  prominent  position,  dwel- 
ling on  the  territory  now  Eastham,  their  country  including  also 
Brewster  (Sauquatucket),  Chatham  (Monomoyick),  Harwich  (Potanum- 
aquut),  Orleans  (Pochet),  the  neck  in  Orleans  (Tonset),  Wellfleet  (Po- 
nonakanet),  Truro  (Pamet),  part  of  Truro  and  Provincetown  (Mee- 
shawn)  and  North  Dennis  (Nobscusset).  The  Nausets  were  also  at 
Namskaket,  now  Orleans,  and  about  the  cove  that  separates  Orleans 
from  Eastham.  In  the  northwest  part  of  Yarmouth  and  around  Barn- 
stable harbor  were  Mattacheese  and  Mattacheeset;  the  south  part  of  the 
east  precinct  in  Barnstable,  Weequakut ;  between  Sandwich  and  Barn- 
stable, Skanton ;  Falmouth,  Succonesset ;  in  Bourne,  near  Buzzards 
bay,  Manomet ;  on  Buzzards  bay,  Cataumet ;  near  Sandwich,  Herring 
pond,  Comassakumkanit ;  Pocasset,  Pokesit;  Mashpee,  Massipee — and 
this  last  body  of  Indians  has  long  been  the  principal  tribe  of  the 
county,  and  once  inckided  Cotuit,  the  southwest  part  of  Barnstable; 
Santuit;  Wakoquoet,  part  of  Falmouth;  Ashumet,  in  Falmouth,  on  west 
line  of  Mashpee  ;  and  Weesquobs,  Great  neck.      The  Indians  on  Nan- 


INDIAN    HISTORY. 


15 


16  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

tucket,  Martha's  Vineyard  and  Elizabeth  islands  were  separate  tribes, 
in  constant  communication  with  the  tribes  on  the  Cape,  and  had  their 
own  sachems.  All  these  tribes  had  their  sachems  or  sagamores,  and 
though  owing  fealty  to  the  Wampanoags  they  could  not  be  induced 
by  King  Philip  to  join  in  the  wars  of  1675.  The  tribe  at  Manomet, 
after  their  adhesion  to  the  English,  proveda  defense  and  were  faithful 
to  their  friendship. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  friendship  and  hospitality  of  the  Cape 
Indians,  it  is  said  that  when  the  ship  Fortune  in  1621  touched  at  Cape 
Cod,  the  Indians  carried  word  of  her  approach  to  the  settlers  at  Ply- 
mouth. 

In  1622  the  colonists  were  compelled  to  go  to  the  Cape  Indians  for 
corn.  They  sailed  around  the  Cape,  along  southerly,  anchoring  in  a 
harbor  at  Chatham,  and  obtained  eight  hogsheads  of  corn  and  beans. 
During  that  and  subsequent  years  corn  was  obtained  of  the  Indians 
at  Sagamore  hill,  Mattacheese,  and  other  places  on  the  north  side. 

For  these  purchases  the  Indians  received  trinkets  and  clothes. 
Various  facts  are  given  that  show  a  friendship  beyond  the  hope  of 
gain.  In  1630,  when  an  English  vessel  was  shipwrecked  on  the  Cape, 
those  passengers  who  died  from  exposure  were  carefully  buried  in 
the  frozen  earth  to  keep  the  bodies  from  wild  beasts,  the  sick  were 
nursed  to  health  and  the  survivors  were  conducted  to  Plymouth.  The 
incident  of  the  lost  boy — strayed  from  Plymouth  and  found  among  the 
Nausets — when  lyanough  with  his  warriors  assisted  in  the  search, 
and  the  Nauset  sachem,  Aspinet,  so  promptly  delivered  the  boy  to 
the  English,  is  another  proof  of  their  friendliness.  The  various  kind 
oflBces  of  lyanough  upon  the  departure  of  the  whites — the  festival, 
the  filling  of  their  rundlets  with  fresh  water,  and  the  taking  the  brace- 
let from  his  neck  and  placing  it  upon  the  leader  of  the  party — are  mat- 
ters of  record  in  the  pilgrim  history. 

Some  of  the  natives  were  possessed  of  such  an  inherent  love  of 
tinsel  display  that  the  bounds  of  Captain  Standish's  strict  doctrines 
were  sometimes  overstepped.  In  1623,  while  the  captain  and  his  men 
were  at  Mattacheese  purchasing  corn,  they  were  forced  to  lodge  in 
the  wigwams  of  the  natives.  Missing  a  few  beads  in  the  morning,  he 
ranged  his  men  around  the  sachem's  cabin  and  threatened  to  fall  upon 
the  inmates  unless  the  beads  were  returned.  The  offender  was  dis- 
covered, restitution  made,  and  a  penalty  for  the  offense  was  paid  with 
more  corn. 

In  1637,  when  the  whites  commenced  the  purchase  of  lands  from  the 
Indians  on  the  Cape,  satisfaction  was  given  by  full  returns  of  beads, 
hoes,  hatchets,  coats  and  kettles ;  but  years  later,  as  the  number  of 
the  Indians  was  diminished  from  various  causes  and  the  increase  of 
the  whites  was  rapid,  the  natives  could  not  see  their  best  plantation 


INDIAN   HISTORY.  17 

lands  appropriated  by  others  without  a  protest.  Writing  of  this  in 
its  relation  to  Yarmouth,  Hon.  C.  F.  Swift  says:  "The  claims  of  the 
Indians  were  paid  in  articles  which,  though  of  no  great  commercial 
value,  seemed  to  be  prized  by  them.  The  Indians  soon  became  pain- 
fully aware  that  their  transfer  of  the  soil  carried  with  it  a  degree  of 
vassalage  far  from  agreeable  to  their  ideas  of  personal  independence. 
In  1656,  Mashantampaigne,  a  sagamore,  was  brought  before  the  court 
on  a  charge  of  having  stolen  a  gun.  The  court  held  the  opinion  that 
the  gun  was  his.  He  was  also  accused  of  having  a  chest  full  of  tools 
stolen  from  the  English,  and  proudly  delivered  up  his  keys  to  Mr. 
Prince,  so  that  he  might  search  his  chest.  Complaint  was  made  by 
John  Darby  that  this  sachem's  dogs  'did  him  wrong  among  his 
cattle,  and  did  much  hurt  one  of  them.'  These  proceedings  are 
interesting  as  showing  that  the  Indians,  sixteen  years  after  the  settle- 
ment, were  completely  under  subjection  to  the  colonial  laws." 

Would  it  be  considered  foolish  in  a  poor  Indian,  whose  sachem 
had  bargained  and  given  possession  to  the  lands  of  the  tribe,  if,  when 
he  saw  his  hunting  grounds  trespassed  upon,  he  should  claim  that  he 
had  not  been  paid  sufficiently  for  them  ?  This  claim  was  often  made, 
of  which  one  instance  is  referred  to  in  our  chapter  of  charters  and 
deeds. 

The  colonial  laws,  made  soon  after  the  settlement  of  the  Cape,  had 
much  to  do  with  restraining  the  dissatisfaction  or  desire  of  revenge 
in  the  breasts  of  those  evil  disposed.  Fire  arms  were  kept  from  them 
and  other  enactments  for  mutual  preservation  were  made  by  the 
court  at  Plymouth.  The  parliament  of  the  mother  country  afterward, 
in  1649,  passed  acts  for  "promoting  and  propagating  the  Gospel 
among  the  Indians;"  but  even  the  Indians  asked  "  how  it  happened 
that  Christianity  was  so  important,  and  for  six  and  twenty  years  the 
English  had  said  nothing  to  them  about  it?"  The  Indians  were 
gradually  brought  under  the  white  man's  laws.  In  1668,  Francis, 
sachem  of  Nauset,  was  fined  ;^10  "  for  uncivil  and  inhuman  words  to 
Captain  Allen,  at  Cape  Cod,  when  cast  away."  In  1673  the  laws  were 
enforced  to  the  extent  that  natives  were  worked  for  debt,  drunken 
ones  fined  and  whipped,  idle  Indians  bound  out  to  labor,  and  for  theft 
were  compelled  to  pay  fourfold.  While  the  poor  Indians  were  taught 
to  heed  the  laws  and  religion  of  the  colonists  they  were  restricted  in 
their  freedom — forbidden  to  visit  Plymouth  during  court  time,  no 
white  was  allowed  to  lend  them  silver  money,  and  they  were  placed 
under  many  other,  to  them,  humiliating  restrictions. 

After  the  dawn  of  the  last  century  their  decrease  was  rapid.     In 

1685    Governor    Hinckley   reported    nearly    one   thousand   praying 

Indians  within  the  limits  of  Barnstable  county,  distributed  as  follows: 

At  Pamet,  Billingsgate  and  Nauset,  264;  at  Monomoyick,  115;  at  Satucket 

2 


18  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTRY. 

and  Nobscusset,  121;  at  Mattacheese,  70;  at  Skanton,  51;  at  Mashpee, 
141;  at  Manomet,  110;  and  at  Succonesset,  72.  He  also  says  that  be- 
sides these  there  were  boys  and  girls  under  twelve  years  of  age, 
three  times  as  man}'.  In  1698  the  commissioners  appointed  to  enu- 
merate the  Indians  reported  in  the  territory  of  the  original  Plymouth 
colony — and  all  told— 1,290,  and  in  1763  but  905,  of  which  Barnstable 
county  had  515;  and  in  1798  few  lingered,  except  in  Mashpee.  The 
last  squaw  of  Yarmouth  is  well  remembered  by  the  oldest  inhabitants 
there  as  dwelling  on  the  west  bank  of  Bass  river,  on  a  portion  of  what 
was  once,  in  the  better  days  of  the  tribe,  the  last  reservation. 

In  1889  Mr.  Swift,  in  writing  of  Yarmouth,  says:  There  are  few 
memorials  or  evidences  existing  of  the  former  occupants  of  the  soil, 
save  the  shell  heaps  near  the  sea  shore  and  the  arrow-heads  and  stone 
utensils  thrown  up  by  the  passing  plowshare  of  the  husbandman, ^v- 
ing  evidence  of  their  numbers  before  the  advent  of  the  white  man  on 
these  shores.  Occasionally  portions  of  an  Indian  skeleton  are  also 
found  here,  but  not  in  sufficient  numbers  to  give  evidence  of  any  con- 
siderable burial  place.  The  last  of  these  who  died  in  considerable 
numbers,  about  the  time  of  the  revolutionary  war,  were  interred  on 
the  eastern  borders  of  Long  pond  in  South  Yarmouth,  and  a  pile  of 
unhewn  stone  maxks  the  spot,  on  one  of  which  is  chiseled  this  inscrip- 
tion: 

On  this  slope  lie  buried 

The  last  of  the  Native  Indians 
OF  Yarmouth. 

Their  burial  places,  of  which  there  are  several  others  on  the  Cape, 
have  been  preserved  with  a  commendable  degree  of  respect  by  the 
people  of  the  towns  wherein  they  are  located.  Over  the  trail  of  the 
swift-footed  runner  of  that  departed  race  now  speeds  the  iron  horse, 
and  their  hunting  grounds  are  now  the  sites  of  flourishing  villages. 

Their  beautiful  legends  yet  linger  in  the  written  pages  of  the 
white  man's  lore,  and  the  recurrence  of  the  changes  in  nature  is  an 
index  to  the  unwritten  traditions  of  the  Indians.  As  the  fogs  creep 
up  from  the  sound,  who  can  forget  their  explanation  of  the  phenom- 
enon ?  The  Mattacheeset  idea  was  that  a  great  many  moons  ago  a 
bird  of  monstrous  size  visited  the  south  shore  of  the  Cape,  carrying 
oflf  pappooses,  and  even  the  larger  children,  to  the  southward.  An 
Indian  giant  named  Maushop  residing  in  those  parts,  in  his  rage 
at  the  havoc,  pursued  the  bird,  wading  across  the  sound  to  an  hitherto 
unknown  island,  where  he  found  the  bones  of  children  in  heaps 
around  the  trunk  and  under  the  shade  of  a  great  tree.  Wishing  to 
smote  on  his  way  back,  and  finding  he  had  no  tobacco,  he  filled  his 
pipe  with  poke — a  weed  used  afterward  by  the  Indians  when  tobacco 
failed — and  started  across  the  sound  to  his  home.     From  this  mem- 


INDIAN   HISTORY.  19 

orable  event  the  frequent  fogs  in  Nantucket  and  on  and  around  Vine- 
yard sound  came;  and  when  the  Indians  saw  a  fog  rising  they  would 
say  in  their  own  tongue,  which  rendered  was,  "  There  comes  old  Mau- 
shop's  smoke." 

The  Indians  about  Santuit  pond  had  a  legend  that  a  great  trout  in 
the  South  sea  wished  to  visit  that  pond,  and  on  his  way  plowed  up 
the  land.  He  turned  and  wound  along,  avoiding  the  large  trees  and 
high  lands,  and  arrived  at  the  pond.  The  water  of  the  sea  followed' 
him  and  formed  the  present  river.  After  a  rest  in  the  pond  he  tried 
to  return  to  the  sea,  but  died  from  exhaustion,  and  the  Indians  cov- 
ered the  trout  with  earth.  It  has  been  called  Trout  Grave  since,  and 
is  yet  so  known  in  the  neighborhood.  The  river  yet  flows,  and  the 
mound  where  the  legendary  trout  was  covered  is  still  plainly  visible 
on  the  bank  of  the  river,  just  west  of  the  residence  of  Simeon  L. 
Ames  of  Cotuit. 

The  Indians  had  no  faithful  records  of  their  own  times  to  portray 
the  virtues  of  their  race;  but  if  we  look  back  to  the  period  when  the 
white  man's  firewater  was  unknown,  when  the  proud  independence 
which  formed  the  main  pillar  of  their  moral  fabric  was  unbroken, 
then  they  were  a  people  with  as  generous  impulses,  as  lofty  purposes 
and  as  chivalrous  deeds  as  paler  men;  but  an  irresistible  power  seems 
to  have  decreed  that  another  people— weaker,  yet  stronger— should 
develop  on  their  soil  a  higher  civilization. 


CHAPTER  III. 


DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATIONS. 


Early  Discovery  of  the  Cape. — Exploration's  by  Gosnold  and  Dermer. — The  Pilgrims. — 
The  Mayflower  in  Cape  Cod  Harbor. — Explorations  by  the  Pilgrims. — Compact 
Signed. — Plymouth. — The  Lost  Boy. — Postat  Manomet. — Great  Storm. — Declaration 
of  Rights. — First  Settlement  of  the  Cape  by  the  "Whites. — Sandwich,  Barnstable, 
Yarmouth  and  Nauset. — Erection  of  County. 


THE  history  of  Barnstable  county,  if  made  complete,  is  of  more 
interest  than  any  other  in  the  Bay  state;  for  Cape  Cod  was  first 
discovered  and  first  explored,  and  has  sustained  its  prominence 
from  that  early  period  to  the  present  time.  From  public  records  and 
the  most  authentic  documents,  with  the  carefulness  that  the  import- 
ance of  the  work  demands,  have  been  compiled  the  facts  of  the  dis- 
covery, exploration  and  settlement  of  Cape  Cod. 

The  discovery  of  the  Western  Continent  in  1492  was- the  most 
important  event  of  modern  times,  and  to  Columbus  and  others  who 
followed  him  the  historical  monuments  already  erected  will  endure  as 
long  as  the  earth  itself.  Traditions  have  credited  Madoc,  a  prince  of 
Wales,  with  a  prior  discover}',  in  the  Twelfth  century;  and  several 
historians  have  discussed  the  Norwegian  claim  to  its  discovery. 
Eric  emigrated  from  Iceland  to  Greenland,  where  he  formed  a  set- 
tlement in  986.  In  the  year  1000,  Lief,  a  son  of  Eric,  with  a  crew  of 
men,  sailed  to  the  southwest,  discovered  land,  explored  the  coast 
southward,  entered  a  bay  where  he  remained  diiring  the  winter,  and 
called  it  Vinland.  In  1007  Thorfinn  sailed  from  Greenland  to  Vin- 
land,  and  the  account  of  his  voyage  is  still  extant.  From  the  evidence 
of  this  voyage  and  others  that  followed,  antiquarians  have  no  hesi- 
tancy in  pronouncing  this  Vinland  as  the  head  of  Narragansett  bay. 
This  is  the  first  tangible  evidence  of  the  coasting  of  the  white  man 
along  the  shores  of  Cape  Cod. 

The  first  discovery  by  a  European  of  which  history  can  be  given, 
was  by  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  an  intrepid  mariner  of  the  west  of 
England,  who,  on  the  26th  of  March,  1602,  sailed  from  Falmouth,  in 
Cornwall,  in  a  small  bark,  with  thirty-two  men,  for  a  coast  called  at 
that  time  North  Virginia.  On  the  14th  of  May  he  made  land  on  the 
eastern  coast  of  Massachusetts,  north  of  Cape  Cod,  and  sailing  south 


DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATIONS.  21 

on  the  15tli,  soon  found  himself  "  embayed  with  a  mighty  headland," 
which  appeared  "  like  an  island  by  reason  of  the  large  sound  that  lay 
between  it  and  the  main."  This  sound  he  called  Shoal  Hope,  and 
near  this  cape,  within  a  leagfue  of  land,  he  came  to  anchor  in  fifteen 
fathoms,  and  his  crew  took  a  great  quantity  of  cod  fish,  from  which 
circumstance  he  named  the  land  Cape  Cod.  The  captain  with  four 
others  went  on  shore  here,  where  they  were  met  in  a  friendly  way  by 
Indians.  This,  Bancroft  confidently  asserts,  was  the  first  spot  in  New 
England  ever  trod  by  Englishmen. 

May  16,  1602,  Gosnold  and  his  crew  coasted  southerly  until  he 
came  to  a  point  where,  in  attempting  to  double,  he  found  the  water 
very  shoal.  To  this  point  he  gave  the  name  of  Point  Care;  it  is  now 
called  Sandy  point,  and  is  the  extreme  southeastern  part  of  Barnstable 
county.  Breakers  were  seen  off  Point  Gammon,  the  southern  point 
of  Yarmouth. 

On  the  19th  of  May  Gosnold  sailed  along  the  coast  westward,  sight- 
ing the  high  lands  of  Barnstable  and  Yarmouth,  and  discovered  and 
named  Martha's  Vineyard.  From  off  this  island  he  sailed  about  the 
24th  of  May,  and  spent  some  three  weeks  in  cruising  about  Buzzards 
bay.  It  has  been  believed  that  he  and  his  men  took  up  their  abode 
on  Cuttyhunk,  traded  and  held  friendly  relations  w,th  Indians;  but  it 
must  have  been  very  brief,  for  on  the  18th  of  June  he  sailed  from 
Buzzards  bay  by  the  passage  through  which  he  entered,  and  arrived 
at  Exmouth,  England,  July  23,  1602. 

In  1603  De  Monts  prepared  for  a  voyage,  and  in  1604  arrived  on 
these  western  shores,  exploring  from  the  St.  Lawrence  river  to  Cape 
Cod  and  southward. 

In  1607  a  settlement  was  attempted  at  Kennebeck  by  the  Plymouth 
Company,  but  the  winter  of  1607-8  being  severe,  and  many  dis- 
couragements interposing,  the  survivors  returned  to  England  in  the 
following  spring.  ^ 

In  1614  Captain  John  Smith,  the  celebrated  navigator,  quitted  the 
colony  of  South  Virginia  and  sailed  along  the  coast,  exploring 
between  Cape  Cod  and  Kennebeck.  He  made  a  fine  map  *  of  the 
country,  which,  upon  his  return  to  England,  he  presented  to  King 
Charles,  who  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  resemblance  to  his  own 
England  that  he  at  once  named  it  "  New  England."  At  this  time  the 
new  possessions  were  supposed  to  be  an  island.  The  same  year  Cap- 
tain Smith  returned  to  London,  leaving  a  ship  for  Thomas  Hunt  to 
command  and  load  with  fish  for  Spain. 

In  1619  Sir  Fernando  Gorges  sent  Mr.  Thomas  Dermer  to  New 
England.     He  found  a  pestilence  had  swept  over  the  Indian  popula- 
*The  celebrated  Varazano  map  of  1518  is  sufficiently  noticed  in  the  chapter  on 
Provincetown  where  its  author  mentions  other  early  navigators. — E^. 


22  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTV. 

tion,  and  some  villages  were  utterly  depopulated.  At  Monomoyick 
(Chatham)  Dermer  was  recognized  by  an  Indian  who  had  been 
abducted  by  Hunt,  only  escaping  after  receiving  fourteen  wounds  at 
the  hands  of  the  Indians,  and  after  nearly  all  his  boat's  crew  had  been 
killed — the  result  of  the  perfidy  of  Hunt  and  others. 

While  Walter  Raleigh  and  his  people  made  at  Jamestown  the  first 
permanent  settlement  in  Virginia,  and  while  the  Dutch,  following 
Hudson's  discovery  of  1609,  gained  a  foothold  at  New  Amsterdam,  it 
seemed  to  be  reserved  to  the  religious  exiles  at  Leyden  to  establish  the 
first  permanent  settlement  in  New  England  and  lay  the  foundations 
on  which  should  be  built  the  greatest  nation  of  modern  times.  In 
1608  they  fled  from  England  to  Amsterdam,  and  thence  to  Leyden, 
whence  they  finally  embarked  for  the  Western  world. 

In  1617  they  meditated  what  was  afterward  accomplished,  but  not 
until  two  years  later  were  necessary  preparations  completed,  and  not 
until  July,  1620,  was  the  first  company  of  these  120  resolute  emi- 
grants in  waiting  to  embark,  August  sixth,  in  the  two  small  ships — the 
Mayflower  and  Speedwell — at  Southampton.  The  Speedwell  proved 
unseaworthy  and  was  abandoned,  thus  reducing  the  number  to  101 
on  board  the  Mayflower,  which,  after  many  delays,  left  Plymouth, 
England,  September  6, 1620.  They  intended  to  go  to  what  was  known 
as  Virginia,  at  or  "near  the  Hudson  river,  of  which,  and  the  surrounding 
country,  Henry  Hudson  had  given  a  glowing  description.  After  many 
boisterous  storms,  on  November  ninth  they  reached  Cape  Cod  and 
as  their  record  said,  "The  which  being  made,  and  certainly  known  to 
be  it,  we  were  not  a  little  joyful."  They  bore  south,  but  encounter- 
ing the  same  shoals  that  had  turned  Gosnold,  they  returned  north- 
ward and  doubled  the  Cape  where  now  is  Provincetown. 

On  the  11th  of  November,  1620,  after  a  voyage  of  sixty-six  days, 
they  found  that  neither  their  compass  nor  bible  had  failed  them,,  and 
they  anchored  within  the  kindly  shelter  of  New  England's  great  right 
arm,  where  many  storm-tossed  mariners  have  since  sought  refuge. 
There,  within  the  very  palm  of  the  hand,  they  recognized  the  hand  of 
Providence  and  kept  as  pilgrim  Christians  their  first  Sabbath  in  the 
New  World.  The  day  they  anchored,  sixteen  men,  headed  by  Captain 
Miles  Standish,  all  well  armed,  went  on  shore  to  procure  wood  and  re- 
connoitre; and  repairs  upon  their  shallop  were  at  once  commenced,  that 
other  and  more  extensive  explorations  might  be  made.  The  store  of 
fowl  in  the  harbor  was  very  great,  and  almost  daily  they  saw  whales. 
"  The  bay  is  so  round  and  circling,  that  before  we  could  come  to 
anchor,  we  went  round  all  the  points  of  the  compass."  Their  nar- 
rative continues:  "  We  could  not  come  near  the  shore  by  three-quarters 
of  an  English  mile,  because  of  shallow  water,  which  was  a  great  preju- 
dice to  us;  for  our  people  were  forced  to  wade  *  *  for  it  was  many 
times  freezing  weather." 


DISCOVERY  AND   EXPLORATIONS.  23 

After  solemnly  thanking  God,  it  was  proposed  that  the  forty-one 
males  who  were  of  age  should  subscribe  a  compact,  which  was  to  be 
the  basis  of  their  government.  Had  all  the  company  been  members 
of  the  Leyden  congregation  they  could  have  relied  on  each  other 
without  imposing  restraint;  but  there  were  many  servants,  and  insub- 
ordination had  manifested  itself  the  day  before  the  Mayflower  anchored 
in  the  harbor. 

Hon.  Francis  Baylies,  in  his  history  of  New  Plymouth,  says  that 
this  compact  adopted  in  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower  "  established  a 
most  important  principle,  a  principle  which  is  the  foundation  of  all 
the  democratic  institutions  of  America,  and  is  the  basis  of  the 
republic."  At  that  dark  day  of  despotism  no  pen  dare  write,  or 
tongue  assert,  that  the  majority  should  govern;  but  these  .primitive, 
discarded  Christians,  relying  upon  their  Maker  for  strength  and  guid- 
ance, discovered  a  truth  in  the  science  of  government  which  had  been 
dormant  for  ages;  and  the  principles  given  and  implied  in  the  com- 
pact unanimously  adopted  by  this  little  band  of  Christians — on  a 
bleak  shore,  in  the  midst  of  desolation  and  wintry  blasts — to-day,  in 
all  the  complications  and  ramifications  of  our  many  branches  of  fed- 
eral and  state  governments,  are  the  happiest  and  leading  character- 
istics.    The  following  is  an  exact  copy  of  the  compact: 

"  In  the  name  of  God,  amen.  We  whose  names  are  underwritten, 
the  loyal  subjects  of  our  dread  sovereign  lord,  King  James,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland  king,  defender  of 
the  faith  &c.,  having  undertaken  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  advance- 
ment of  the  christian  faith,  and  honor  of  our  king  and  country,  a  voy- 
age to  plant  the  first  colony  in  the  northern  parts  of  Virginia,  do,  by 
these  presents,  solemnly  and  mutually,  in  the  presence  of  God  and  of 
one  another,  covenant  and  combine  ourselves  together  into  a  civil 
body  politic,  for  our  better  ordering  and  preservation,  and  further- 
ance of  the  ends  aforesaid;  and  by  virtue  hereof,  do  enact,  constitute, 
and  frame  such  just  and  equal  laws,  ordinances,  acts,  constitutions, 
and  offices,  from  time  to  time,  as  shall  be  thought  most  meet  and  con- 
venient for  the  general  good  of  the  colony,  unto  which  we  promise 
all  due  submission  and  obedience. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunder  subscribed  our  names,  at 
Cape  Cod,  the  11th  day  of  November,  in  the  year  of  the  reign  of  our 
sovereign  lord.  King  James,  of  England,  France,  and  Ireland,  the 
eighteenth,  and  of  Scotland  the  fifty-fourth,  anno  Domini  1620." 

This  compact  was  signed  in  the  following  order.  We  adopt  the 
idea  of  Mr.  Prince,  in  his  New  England  Chronology,  Vol.  I,  p.  85,  Ed. 
1736,  in  giving  the  number  of  each  family;  also,  in  placing  the  *  to 
each  who  brought  his  wife,  and  italicizing  every  one  who  died  before 
the  first  of  April,  1621: 


24         '  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

1.  Mr.  John  Carver  *  8;   2.   Mr.  William  Bradford  *  2;   3.  Mr.  Ed- 
ward Winslow,*  6;    4.   Mr.  William  Brewster,*  6;    5.  Mr.  Isaac  Aller- 
ton,*  6;  6.  Capt.  Miles  Standish  *  2;  7.  John  Alden,  1;   8.  Mr.  Samuel 
Fuller,  2;    9.   Mr.  Christopher  Martin*  4;    10.  Mr.  William  Mulletis*  5; 
11.  Mr.  William  White*  b\  12.  Mr.  Richard  Warren,  1;  13.  John  How- 
land;   14.  Mr.  Stephen  Hopkins  *  8;    15.  Edward  Tilley*  4;   16.  John 
Tilley,*  3;   17.    Francis  Cooke,  2;    18.    Thomas  Rogers,  2;   19.    Thomas 
Tinker*^;  20.  John  Ridgdale,2\    21.  Edward  Fuller  *  ^\    22.  John   Tur- 
ner,  3;  23.  Francis  Eaton,*  3;  24.  James  Chilton*  3;  25.  John  Crackston, 
2;  26.  John  Billington,*  4;  27.  Moses  Fletcher,  1 ;   28.  John  Goodman,  1 
2^.  Degory  Priest,!;   30.    Thomas  Williams,!;   31.    Gilbert  Winslow,  1 
32.  Edmund  Margeson,  1;  33.  Peter  Brown,  1;  34.  Richard  Butteridge,\ 
35.  George  Soule;    36.  Richard  Clarke,  1;  '37.  Richard  Gardiner,  1;  38. 
John  Allerton,  1;  39.   Thomas  English,  1;  40.  Edward  Dotey;  41.  Edward 
Leister. 

The  same  day  John  Carver  was  chosen  governor  for  one  year,  and 
government  was  thus  regularly  established.  The  legislative  and 
judicial  power  was  in  the  whole  body,  and  the  govemer  became  the 
executive. 

On  the  15th  of  November  sixteen  men,  well  armed,  went  on  shore 
to  explore  while  the  shallop  was  being  repaired;  Captain  Miles 
Standish  was  leader.  They  found  Indians,  who  fled  at  their  approach. 
They  set  sentinels  and  remained  on  the  Cape  over  night — supposed 
from  the  description  to  be  near  Stout's  creek.  They  traveled  south 
from  Dyer's  swamp  to  the  pond,  in  Truro.  From  the  Great  Hollow 
they  went  south  to  the  hill  which  terminates  in  Hopkins's  cliff,  north 
side  of  Pamet  river  in  Truro. 

On  the  27th  of  November,  the  shallop  being  ready,  twenty-four  men 
went  forth  to  explore;  Captain  Jones,  of  the  May  flower, 2:0.^  a  few  sea- 
men joined  the  party,  making  thirty-four  in  all.  They  landed  at  Old 
Tom's  hill,  went  up  the  Pamet  river,  and  after  three  days  returned  to 
the  ship,  carrying  corn  from  the  storehouses  of  the  natives. 

December  sixth  another  company  set  sail  to  explore  the  Cape,  for 
much  anxiety  was  manifested  as  to  where  they  should  abide.  They 
first  landed  at  Billingsgate  point;  the  next  day  a  portion  went  by  boat 
and  others  on  shore  southward  through  Eastham.  They  sailed  along 
the  north  coast  of  Cape  Cod  until  Saturday  evening,  December  ninth, 
when  they  found  a  safe  harbor  under  the  lee  of  a  small  island,  called 
Clark's  island  from  the  master's  mate,  who  was  the  first  to  land,  in 
Plymouth  harbor.  Sunday  was  duly  observed  with  praise  and  thanks- 
giving, and  on  Monday  the  11th  the  harbor  was  sounded,  the  land 
explored,  and  was  deemed  the  best  place  for  a  habitation,  and  one 
which  the  season  and  their  present  necessities  should  make  them  glad 
to  accept.  That  day  they  returned  to  the  ship  in  Cape  Cod  harbor 
with  the  report  of  their  explorations. 


DISCOVERY  AND   EXPLORATIONS.  25 

The  question  touching  the  place  of  settlement  had  been  a  vital 
one,  and  some  even  yet  thought  it  best  to  explore  northward  from 
Plymouth  before  deciding;  but  upon  the  return  of  the  second  party 
from  Plymouth  it  was  decided  to  fix  their  abode  there;  December 
16th  the  ship  sailed  for  this  haven,  which,  owing  to  head  winds,  was 
not  entered  till  the  16th.  Here  a  history  of  Barnstable  county  must 
necessarily  sever  connection  with  them,  only  so  far  as  their  visits  and 
the  settlement  of  a  portion  of  them  pertains  to  the  Cape. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1621,  John  Billington,  a  boy  from  the  Ply- 
mouth colony,  was  lost,  for  whom  the  governor  caused  inquiry  to  be 
made  among  the  Indians.  He  was  found  at  Nauset  (Eastham),  where 
he  had  been  carried  and  kindly  sheltered  by  the  natives,  who  found 
him  wandering  in  the  woods  of  Sandwich.  A  boat  was  dispatched  to 
bring  the  boy,  but  was  compelled  to  anchor  over  night  at  Cummaquid 
(Barnstable  harbor).  Here,  lyanough,  the  sachem  of  this  part  of  the 
Cape,  displayed  a  friendship  that  could  well  be  denominated  a  reproof 
for  the  acts  of  Hunt  and  others  who  had  so  unceremoniously  taken 
unbecoming  liberties  among  the  tribes  of  the  Cape.  He  assisted  in 
the  recovery  of  the  boy,  and  promised  his  friendly  adhesion  to  the 
colony. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  1621,  nine  sachems  subscribed  an  instru- 
ment of  submission  to  King  James,  and  among  them  several  of  the 
known  Cape  sachems;  and  for  years  before  Barnstable  county  was 
settled  constant  intercourse  was  kept  up  with  the  Cape  by  the  Ply- 
mouth colony.  It  became  a  necessity  to  often  visit  the  Indian  gran- 
aries in  times  of  dearth.  In  this  intercourse  with  the  tribes  of  the 
Cape  more  or  less  jealousies  and  bickerings  arose,  in  which,  perhaps, 
the  whites  were  as  much  at  fault  as  their  Indian  neighbors.  One 
instance:  In  March,  1623,  Captain  Standish  entered  Scusset  harbor 
for  corn,  and  conceived  the  idea  that  a  native  of  Pamet  intended  to 
kill  him,  but  he  thwarted  any  plot,  if  one  had  been  planned,  by  a 
faithful  watch.  About  this  time  a  plot  against  the  colony  was  sus- 
pected, which  was  really  an  outgrowth  of  Captain  Standish's  former 
suspicion,  and  resulted  in  the  slaughter  by  the  English  of  four  prom- 
inent sachems,  the  head  of  one  of  whom  was  borne  to  Plymouth  and 
set  up  on  a  pole  over  the  fort.  The  news  of  such  unwonted  massacre 
spread  among  the  natives  of  the  Cape,  causing  them  to  feel  that  no 
confidence  could  be  placed  in  those  they  had  befriended,  and  that  any 
and  every  one  was  liable  at  any  moment  to  become  a  victim  of  false 
accusation,  to  swell  the  list  of  those  who  had  fallen  by  such  a  spirit 
of  extermination.  Several  of  the  Cape  tribes  left  their  abodes,  took 
to  the  woods  and  swamps,  contracted  diseases,  and  many  of  the  most 
friendly  sachems,  including  the  venerable  lyanough,  miserably  died. 
As  soon  as  the  transaction  mentioned  in  this  paragraph  was  communi- 


26  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

cated  to  Rev.  Mr.  Robinson,  the  leader  and  founder  of  the  Ply- 
mouth church,  at  Leyden,  he  wrote  to  the  governor  at  Plymouth,  beg- 
ging them  "  to  consider  the  disposition  of  their  captain,  who  was  a 
man  of  warm  temper;"  also  "he  trusted  the  Lord  had  sent  him  among 
them  for  good,  but  feared  he  was  wanting  in  that  tenderness  of  the 
life  of  man,  made  after  God's  image,  which  was  meet;  and  it  would 
have  been  better  if  they  had  converted  some  before  they  had  killed 
any." 

The  Cape  was  important  to  Plymouth,  as  touching  ground  for 
trading  vessels  and  additional  pilgrims.  In  December,  1626,  a  ship 
bound  for  Virginia  was  compelled  to  put  in  at  the  nearest  point,  and 
ran  into  Monomoyick  (Chatham)  bay;  here  the  vessel  was  wrecked, 
and  the  beach  was  called  thenceforward  Old  Ship.  The  Indians  con- 
veyed the  intelligence  of  the  disaster  to  Plymouth,  in  the  meantime 
caring  for  the  unfortunates,  and  the  governor  hastened  to  dispatch  a 
boat  with  supplies,  which  were  landed  at  the  south  side  of  the  bay,  at 
Namskaket  creek,  whence  it  was  not  much  over  two  miles  across  the 
Cape  to  where  the  ship  lay.  The  Indians  carried  the  supplies  across 
to  the  suflFerers,  and  the  goods  from  the  broken-up  vessel  were  subse- 
quently transported  to  Namskaket  and  the  crew  conducted  to 
Plymouth. 

In  1627  the  colonists  established  a  trading  house  at  Manomet 
(Bourne),  on  the  south  side  of  Monument  river,  to  facilitate  their 
intercourse  with  the  Narragansett  country.  New  Amsterdam,  and  the 
shores  of  Long  Island  sound.  The  trading  post  was  not  far  from 
Monument  Bridge — the  Indian  Manomet  being  corrupted  to  Monu- 
ment. By  transporting  their  goods  up  the  creek  from  Scusset  harbor 
and  transferring  them  a  short  distance  by  land  they  reached  the  boata- 
ble  waters  the  other  side  of  the. Cape.  Governor  Bradford  says:  "  For 
our  greater  convenience  of  trade,  to  discharge  our  engagements,  and 
to  maintain  ourselves,  we  have  built  a  small  pinnace,  at  Manomet,  a 
place  on  the  sea,  twenty  miles  to  the  south,  to  which,  by  another  creek 
on  this  side,  we  transport  our  goods  by  water  within  four  or  five  miles, 
and  then  carry  them  over  land  to  the  vessel;  thereby  avoiding  the 
compassing  of  Cape  Cod,  with  those  dangerous  shoals,  and  make  our 
voyage  to  the  southward  with  far  less  time  and  hazard.  For  the 
safety  of  our  vessel  and  goods  we  there  also  built  a  house  and  keep 
some  servants,  who  plant  corn,  raise  swine,  and  are  always  ready  to  go 
out  with  the  bark — which  takes  good  eflfect  and  turns  to  advantage." 
This  proved,  as  the  governor  said,  an  advantage.  The  first  communi- 
cation between  the  Plymouth  colony  and  the  Dutch  at  Fort  Amster- 
dam was  through  this  channel.  De  Razier,  the  noted  merchant, 
arrived  at  Manomet  in  September,  1627,  with  a  ship  load  of  sugar, 
linen  and  stuffs;  and  Governor  Bradford  sent  a  boat  to  Scusset  harbor 


DISCOVERY  AND   EXPLORATIONS.  2T 

to  convey  him  to  Plymouth.     As  this  trading  post  was  temporary,  we 
do  not  date  the  settlement  of  Sandwich  at  this  time. 

Still,  with  additions  to  their  numbers,  the  sickness  and  exposures, 
famine  stared  the  Plymouth  colony  in  the  face  often,  and  many 
instances  of  calm  resignation  are  recorded  in  its. early  annals.  One 
who  came  to  the  governor's  house  with  his  tales  of  suffering,  "  found- 
his  lordship's  last  batch  in  the  oven."  A  good  man  who  asked  a 
neighbor  to  partake  of  a  dish  of  clams,  after  dinner  returned  "  thanks 
to  God,  who  had  given  them  to  suck  of  the  abundance  of  the  seas  and 
of  the  treasures  hid  in  the  sands." 

Their  first  election  of  executive  officers  under  their  first  charter  was 
in  1630,  at  which  time  the  total  population  of  the  colony  did  not 
exceed  three  hundred.  There  was  no  scramble  for  ofiBce,  and  in  1631 
it  was  found  necessary  to  enact  that  "  if,  now,  or  hereafter  any  person, 
chosen  to  the  office  of  governor  refuse,  he  shall  be  fined  twenty 
pounds;  and  that  if  a  councillor,  or  magistrate,  chosen  refuse,  he  shall 
be  fined  ten  pounds;  and  in  case  this  be  not  paid  on  demand,  it  shall 
be  levied  out  of  said  person's  goods  or  chattels."  We  must  except 
this  one  peculiarity  from  the  many  sterling  principles  implanted  in 
our  government  customs,  but  not  censure  our  Puritan  ancestors  for 
the  departure  taken  by  the  present-day  politicians  in  their  unjust 
scramble  for  office. 

Governor  Bradford  thus  describes  a  great  storm,  in  the  annals  of 
the  colony: 

August  16,1635. — "A  mighty  storm  of  wind  and  rain  as  none 
living  in  these  parts,  either  English  or  Indians,  ever  saw.  It  began 
in  the  morning  a  little  before  day,  and  came  with  great  violence, 
causing  the  sea  to  swell  above  twenty  feet  right  up,  and  made  many  in- 
habitants climb  into  the  trees.  It  took  off  the  roof  of  a  house  belong- 
ing to  the  plantation  at  Manomet,  and  put  it  in  another  place.  Had 
the  storm  continued  without  shifting  of  the  wind,  it  would  have 
drowned  some  parts  of  the  country.  It  blew  down  many  thousands 
of  trees,  turning  up  the  stronger  by  the  roots,  breaking  the  higher 
pines  in  the  middle,  and  winding  small  oaks  and  walnuts  of  good 
size  as  withes.  It  began  southeast,  and  parted  towards  the  south  and 
east,  and  veered  sundry  ways.  The  wrecks  of  it  will  remain  a  hun- 
dred years.  The  moon  suffered  a  great  eclipse  the  second  night  after 
it."  The  destruction  on  the  Cape  was  even  greater  than  on  the  main 
land. 

Since  the  simple  compact  of  1620  no  constitution  or  other  instru- 
ment for  the  government  of  the  colony  had  been  made.  The  code  of 
Moses  seemed  to  be  paramount  to  any  code  of  England.  The  power 
of  the  church  was  superior.  As  trade  expanded  it  was  evident  that 
civil  authorityj  and  not  church  censure,  must  extend  its  strong  power 


28  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

over  the  colony  to.  check  the  often  recurring  conflictions  of  trade 
and  growing  selfishness  of  man's  nature;  therefore  on  the  ISth  of 
November,  1636,  the  court  of  associates  first  set  forth  the  following 
declaration  of  rights — the  first  real  one  of  the  New  World : 

"  We,  the  Associgites  of  New  Plymouth,  coming  hither  as  free-bom 
subjects  of  the  state  of  England,  and  endowed  with  all  and  singular 
the  privileges  belonging  to  such,  being  assembled,  do  ordain  that,  no 
act,  imposition,  law,  or  ordinance,  be  made  or  imposed  on  us,  at  the 
present  or  to  come,  but  shall  be  made  or  imposed  by  consent  of  the 
body  of  Associates,  or  their  representatives,  legally  assembled, — 
which  is  according  to  the  liberties  of  the  state  of  England." 

Thus  was  established  our  present  form  of  representation;  and  as 
all  rights  of  parliament  to  legislate  for  them  were  renounced,  they 
proceeded  to  provide  for  the  emergency.  It  was  enacted:  "  That  on 
the  first  Tuesday  in  June,  annually,  an  election  shall  be  held  for  the 
choice  of  Governor,  and  assistants,  to  rule  and  govern  the  plantation." 

The  franchise  was  confined  to  those  admitted  as  freemen,  to  whom 
a  stringent  oath  was  prescribed.  And  they  must  be  "  Orthodox  in 
the  fundamentals  of  religion  "  and  "  possessed  of  a  ratable  estate  of 
twenty  pounds."  The  votes  were  to  be  given  by  person  or  by  proxy 
at  Plymouth,  and  no  person  was  to  live,  or  inhabit,  within  the  govern- 
ment of  New  Plymouth  "  without  the  leave  and  liking  of  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Assistants."  A  constable  was  to  be  elected  who  had  power 
to  serve  "according  to  that  measure  of  wisdom,  understanding,  and 
discretion  as  God  has  given  you,"  and  had  power  to  arrest,  without 
precept,  "all  suspicious  persons."  Capital  offenses  were  treason, 
murder,  diabolical  converse,  arson  and  rape. 

At  this  date  (1636)  the  only  towns  settled  were  Plymouth,  Duxbury 
and  Scituate.  The  Cape  was  still  the  home  of  the  same  Indian  tribes 
who  had  been  ruled,  ostensibly,  by  the  colony,  and  had  maintained  a 
very  friendly  trade  and  seeming  allegiance.  But  the  year  1637  was 
to  see  the  first  settlement  by  the  whites  upon  the  Cape. 

April  3,  1637,  a  settlement  was  commenced  at  Sandwich,  although 
the  plantation  was  not  recognized  as  a  town  until  two  years  later. 
These  persons  were  chiefly  from  Lynn  (Saug^s),  with  a  few  from 
Duxbury  and  Plymouth.  The  permit,  or  grant,  must  be  given  by  the 
general  court,  and  the  record  was  made  that  they  "shall  have  liberty 
to  view  a  place  to  sit  down,  and  have  sufiScient  lands  for  three-score 
families,  upon  the  conditions  propounded  to  them  by  the  Governor 
and  Mr.  Winslow."  These  freemen  had  undergone  the  most  rigid 
oaths  and  examinations  to  obtain  this  permission,  and  very  early  Mr. 
John  Alden  and  Captain  Miles  Standish  were  sent  to  "set  forth  the 
bounds  of  the  lands  granted  there."  They  were  to  see  that  the  qual- 
ifications of  "  housekeeping  "  were  strictly  conformed  to;  and  singu- 


DISCOVERY   AND   EXPLORATIONS.  29 

larly  enough  it  was  found  that  Joseph  Winsor  and  Anthony  Besse, 
at  Sandwich,  were  disorderly  keeping  house — alone — and  were  pre- 
sented to  the  court.  While  the  growing  settlements  of  the  Cape  were 
under  Plymouth  government  we  find  no  flagrant  transgressions  of 
their  stringent  laws — the  whole  code — from  that  forbidding,  by  heavy 
punishment,  "  the  inveigling  of  men's  daughter,  etc.,"  down  to  that  of 
"allowing  no  swine  to  go  at  large  without  ringing  them." 

As  early  as  August,.1638,  liberty  was  given  Mr.  Stephen  Hopkins 
to  erect  a  house  at  Mattacheese  and  cut  hay  there  to  winter  his  cattle 
— provided  it  do  not  withdraw  him  from  Plymouth.  Again  permission 
granted,  September  third,  to  Gabriel  Weldon  and  Gregory  Armstrong 
to  go  and  dwell  at  Yarmouth;  and  then  it  is  said,  "  the  people  of  Lynn 
having  established  a  settlement  at  Sandwich,  an  attempt  was  made 
from  the  same  quarter  to  establish  another  at  Yarmouth."  First  in 
the  work  was  Rev.  Stephen  Batchelor,  aged  76  years,  who  trav- 
eled the  distance  from  Lynn  to  the  east  part  of  Barnstable  on  foot. 
The  records  show  that  this  attempt  failed  from  the  difficulties  that 
attended  it,  and  the  next  year  other  parties  had  the  honor  of  first 
erecting  their  cabins  in  the  wilderness  of  the  present  Barnstable  and 
Yarmouth. 

The  Indian  Mattacheese  extended  quite  a  distance  within  the 
present  limits  of  Barnstable,  and  among  the  many  settlers  of  the  sum- 
mer of  1639  the  territory  of  Barnstable,  Yarmouth  and  Dennis  became 
settled.  The  northeastern  part  was  called  Hockanom,  yet  another 
part  of  the  ancient  settlement  was  called  Sesuet — since  East  Dennis. 
The  names  of  these  grantees  of  Mattacheese  are  found  in  the  chapters 
of  Barnstable  and  Yarmouth. 

In  this  year,  1639,  so  many  had  migrated  to  the  towns  of  Barnsta- 
ble, Yarmouth  and  Sandwich,  that  they  were  invested  with  the  rights 
of  towns  and  were  each  entitled  to  two  delegates  to  an  assembly  for 
legislation.  In  October  of  the  same  year  the  authorities  at  Plymouth 
ordered  a  pound  to  be  erected  at  Yarmouth,  and  established  there  a 
pair  of  stocks.  The  stocks  of  that  day,  in  which  the  petty  offenders 
were  compelled  to  sit,  were  one  of  the  mediums  through  which  the 
Plymouth  court  would  impress  a  notion  of  its  dignity  upon  any  who 
disregarded  its  authority. 

In  1641  the  active  ministers  of  Barnstable,  Sandwich  and  Yarmouth 
were  John  Laythorpe  [Lothrop],  John  Mayo,  William  Leverich,  John 
Miller  and  Marmaduke  Matthews.  These  each  bore  the  title  of 
Mister,  that  insignia  of  Puritan  importance  which  at  that  time  was 
only  applied  to  the  learned  and  the  wealthy. 

The  first  assessment  for  the  expenses  of  the  general  court  was 
levied  in  June,  1641,  upon  the  eight  towns  then  constituting  the  col- 
ony.    To  produce  ;^25,  Plymouth  was  assessed  £5,  Duxbury  £^,  10, 


30  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Scituate  £4,  Sandwich  £3,  Yarmouth,  Barnstable  and  Taunton  each 
£2,  10,  and  Marshfield  £2. 

In  1644  the  project  of  removing  the  Plymouth  government  to 
Nauset  on  the  Cape  was  again  agitated,  and  Governor  Bradford  and 
others  were  sent  to  locate  a  site.  They  purchased  lands  of  the  sachems 
of  Nauset  and  Monomoyick,  and  permission  was  given  to  the  Ply- 
mouth church  for  a  new  location.  A  part  of  the  church  only  removed, 
-and  in  April  the  new  settlement  was  commenced  at  Nauset.  Secre- 
tary Morton  said  of  it,  "  divers  of  the  considecablest  of  the  church  and 
town  removed."  The  prominent  men  who  removed  are  noticed  in  the 
history  of  Eastham. 

In  1646  the  Cape  furnished  two  of  the  governor's  assistants — Mr. 
Thomas  Prince  of  Nauset  and  Edmund  Freeman  of  Sandwich — and 
the  towns  were  ordered  by  the  general  court  to  have  a  clerk  to  keep  a 
register  of  births,  marriages  and  burials. 

In  1647  progress  was  made  in  extending  the  Nauset  and  other  set- 
tlements, both  on  the  territory  between  Eastham  and  Dennis,  and 
toward  Provincetown.  Prior  to  the  settlement  at  Nauset,  three  years 
before,  all  of  the  territory  below  Dennis  was  occupied  by  Indians;  but 
■during  the  year  1653  Brewster  was  settled.  It  would  also  seem  that 
the  Cape  had  at  least  one  mill  at  Sandwich,  and  that  the  miller  was 
presented,  in  1648,  for  not  having  a  toll-dish  sealed  "according  to 
order." 

In  1651  quite  a  number  of  the  best  citizens  of  Sandwich,  "  for  not 
frequenting  the  public  worship  of  God,"  were  presented,  and  in  1652 
Ralph  Allen,  sr.,  and  Richard  Kerby  of  Sandwich  were  presented 
"""for  speaking  deridingly  against  God's  word  and  ordinances."  It 
would  seem  by  the  fining  of  the  citizens  that  already  the  Cape  people 
had  commenced  a  move  in  the  right  direction,  and  would  be  worship- 
ping God  properly  by  not  heeding  such  rules  and  tenets  as  had  been 
made  by  the  rulers. 

The  most  convenient  road  from  Sandwich  to  Plymouth  was  laid 
out  in  1652,  by  order  of  the  court  to  Mr.  Prince  and  Captain  Standish 
to  empanel  a  jury.  This  was  done,  and  the  highway  began  "  at 
Sandwich,  leaving  Goodman  Black's  house  on  the  right  hand,  running 
-across  the  swamp,  over  the  river,  and  so  on,  in  a  nor-north-west  line 
falling  upon  Eel  River."  April  1,  1663,  delegates  were  sent  from 
Barnstable,  Eastham,  Yarmouth  and  Sandwich  to  meet  the  court  "to 
conclude  on  military  aflfairs."  Sandwich  furnished  six  men,  Yarmouth 
six,  Barnstable  six  and  Eastham  three,  for  military  purposes.  In 
1653  the  first  coined  money  of  the  New  World  was  put  into  circu- 
lation, and  the  historical  pine-tree  shilling  was  the  veritable  money 
mentioned;  it  was  coined  by  Massachusetts  and  was  in  circulation  on 
the  Cape. 


DISCOVERY    AND    EXPLORATIONS.  31 

These  four  towns,  frequently  mentioned,  and  being  then  the  only 
Cape  towns  incorporated,  remained  under  the  Plymouth  government 
until  1685,  when  that  colony  was  divided  into  three  counties — Ply- 
mouth, Bristol  and  Barnstable.  The  growth  in  settlement  was  rapid, 
as  the  Cape  possessed  its  own  local  and  peculiar  advantages.  Thus 
the  white  man's  presence,  the  white  man's  enterprise  and  the  social 
life  which  they  implied  gradually  but  surely  took  their  permanent 
place  on  the  Cape,  and  the  elimination  of  the  red  man  as  a  factor  in 
human  affairs  here  was  rapidly  accomplished. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


CHARTERS,  GRANTS  AND  INDIAN  DEEDS. 


Spanish  Claims. — Cabot's  Discoveries. — Plymouth  Company. — Council  of  Plymouth. — 
The  Pilgrims.— Patent  of  1629-30.— Settlement  of  the  Cape  Towns  and  Purcliases 
from  the  Indians. — Charter  of  1691. 


BY  virtue  of  the  discovery  by  Columbus,  followed  by  a  grant  from 
the  pope  and  a  general  treaty  with  Portugal,  Spain  made  a  claim 
to  the  whole  continent  of  America,  excepting  Brazil,  which  was 
granted  to  Portugal  in  the  treaty.  This  assumption  excited  the 
cupidity  and  curiosity  of  other  European  powers,  and  expeditions  of 
discovery  were  at  once  fitted  out  by  France  and  England.  John  Cabot, 
in  1496,  set  sail  from  Bristol,  England,  with  full  authority  to  take  pos- 
session, in  the  name  of  the  king,  of  all  lands  and  islands  he  might 
discover.  He  sailed  to  the  present  coast  of  New  England,  and  under 
the  doctrine  that  newly  discovered  countries  belong  to  the  discov- 
erers, England  put  forward  a  claim  to  extensive  regions  of  North 
America,  a  portion  of  which  they  subsequently  settled;  but  the  colon- 
ization necessary  to  complete  the  title  by  discovery  was  delayed,  and 
eight  years  elapsed  before  the  English  made  attempts  to  settle  these 
lands  to  which  they  had  such  a  questionable  right. 

The  first  charter  of  Virginia,  in  1606,  contemplated  the  planting 
of  two  colonies.  The  persons  mentioned  in  the  charter  of  the  second 
or  northern  colony  were:  Thomas  Hanham,  Raleigh  Gilbert,  William 
Parker  and  George  Popham,  while  others  not  mentioned  were  active 
in  the  company.  In  1607  futile  attempts  were  made  by  this  Plymouth 
Company — the  name  given  to  the  one  for  the  settlement  of  northern. 
Virginia — to  plant  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec  river. 

The  French  also  put  forward  a  claim  to  certain  portions  of  the  New 
England  territory,  and  under  a  patent  which  France  had  granted  to 
De  Monts,  they  made  a  settlement  at  Port  Royal;  but  Argall,  for  the 
English,  burned  it  in  1613.  Among  these  attempts  to  settle,  under  the 
patents  of  royalty,  it  was  seemingly  destined  that  a  feeble  band  of 
persecuted  religionists,  providentally  thrown  upon  its  shores,  should 
make  the  first  permanent  settlement  within  the  limits  of  the  new 
province. 


CHARTERS,  GRANTS  AND   INDIAN  DEEDS.  33 

The  Virginia  company  having  renewed  their  charter,  in  1619 — the 
first  having  been  forfeited  by  the  attainder  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh — a 
company  was  formed  at  London  which  applied  for  a  similar  grant  of 
the  northern  part  of  the  so-called  Virginia.  This  company,  well 
known  in  law  and  in  history  as  the  Council  of  Plymouth,  was  com- 
posed of  forty  men,  who  had  combined  and  engaged  to  invest  money 
in  this  new  enterprise.  After  nearly  two  years'  solicitation  this  com- 
pany succeeded,  November  3,  1620,  in  obtaining  a  charter  from  King 
James  I.,  which  put  that  part  of  North  America  between  the  40th  and 
48th  degrees  of  north  latitude,  except  "  all  places  actually  possessed 
by  any  other  Christian  prince  or  people,"  into  their  absolute  control. 

This  company  was  composed  of  the  Duke  of  Lenox,  Marquis  of 
Buckingham,  Marquis  of  Hamilton,  Earl  of  Arundel,  Earl  of  War- 
wick, Sir  Fernando  Gorges  and  thirty-four  merchants,  incorporated 
as  "  The  Council  established  at  Plymouth,  in  the  county  of  Devon,  for 
the  planting,  ruling,  ordering,  and  governing  of  New  England,  in 
America."  This  company,  although  formed  prior  to  the  departure  of 
the  Mayflower,  did  not  receive  from  the  crown  the  promised  charter 
until  about  one  week  before-  that  vessel  had  dropped  anchor  in  Cape 
Cod  harbor.  The  occupants  of  the  Mayflower,  finding  themselves  out 
of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Virginia  company,  under  whose  permission 
they  had  expected  to  form  their  settlement,  they  entered  into  the 
agreement  in  the  cabin,  as  described  in  the  previous  chapter.  The 
Mayflower  returned  to  England  in  the  spring  of  1621,  and  the  Council 
of  Plymouth  then  learned  that  the  pilgrims  had  formed  a  settlement 
upon  territory  included  within  their  charter.  The  council  were  quite 
ready  to  take  them  under  their  protection,  and  the  colonists  were  de- 
sirous of  receiving  it,  if  a  grant  of  territory  could  be  procured.  When 
the  Mayflower  sailed  from  the  Old  World,  many  who  came  obtained 
aid  from  Thomas  Weston  and  others,  called  Merchant  Adventurers. 
This  aid  was  to  each  man,  or  boy  of  sixteen,  ;^10  for  transportation 
and  outfit,  which  sum  entitled  the  Adventurers  to  one-half  interest  or 
share  in  all  the  lands,  profits  and  labors  of  the  person  so  aided  for  the 
term  of  seven  years. 

The  first  patent  for  the  pilgrims,  as  promised  by  the  Council  of 
Plymouth,  of  which  any  record  is  given,  bears  date  June  1, 1621.  This 
was  obtained  by  John  Pierce  and  his  associates  ostensibly  for  the  in- 
fant colony,  but  was  never  delivered.  Its  conditions  were  onerous;-- 
but  in  consideration  that  the  pilgrims  were  hopefully  settled,  the  same 
individual  sought  another  patent,  in  1623,  which  would  insure  a 
gfreater  degree  of  success  to  his  own  selfishness.  After  two  several 
attempts  to  cross  the  Atlantic  with  the  second  charter  in  his  posses- 
sion, upon  his  return  to  England  he  was  persuaded  to  relinquish  it  to 
the  council. 


34  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

The  pilgrims  of  1620  received  no  patent  for  their  lands  until  1629- 
30.  The  accrued  indebtedness  to  the  Merchant  Adventurers  at  the 
expiration  of  the  seven  years  was  ;^1, 800,  which  was  assumed  in  1627, 
and  bonds  for  payment  given  extending  over  a  period  of  nine  years. 
The  eight  of  the  colonists  who  assumed  the  indebtedness  were  Gov- 
ernor Bradford,  Edward  Winslow,  Thomas  Prince,  Miles  Standish, 
William  Brewster,  John  Alden,  John  Rowland  and  Isaac  Allerton, 
and  to  these  persons  a  patent  was  issued  by  the  Council  of  Plymouth 
January  13,  1629-30,  after  three  voyages  by  Mr.  Allerton  to  England 
for  its  procurement. 

"  The  Council  of  New  England,  in  consideration  that  Wm.  Bradford 
and  his  associates  have  for  these  nine  years  lived  in  New  England, 
and  there  have  planted  a  town  called  New  Plymouth,  at  their  own 
charges, — and  now  seeing  that,  by  the  special  providence  of  God  and 
their  extraordinary  care  and  industry,  they  have  increased  their  plan- 
tation to  near  three  hundred  people  *  *  *  ,  do  therefore  seal  a 
patent  to  the  said  Wm.  Bradford,  his  heirs,  associates,  and  assigns  of 
all  that  part  of  New  England  on  the  east  side  of  a  line  drawn  north- 
erly from  the  mouth  of  the  Narraganset  river  and  southerly  of  a  line 
drawn  westerly  from  the  Cohasset  rivulet  to  meet  the  other  line  at 
the  uttermost  limits  of  country  called  Pocanoket."  A  tract  on  the 
Kennebec  was  also  included.  This  grant  comprised  the  entire  Cape 
with  all  prerogatives,  rights,  royalties,  jurisdictions  and  immunities; 
also  marine  franchises  that  the  council  had,  or  ought  to  have,  with 
privileges  of  incorporation  by  laws  and  constitutions  not  contrary  to 
those  of  England. 

This,  the  first  charter  received  giving  the  pilgrims  any  definite 
territory,  was  granted  to  Mr.  Bradford  and  his  associates  who  had 
bound  themselves  to  pay  the  indebtedness  of  the  colony.  This  patent 
was  missing  for  many  years,  and  is  said  to  have  been  found  in  1741 
among  Governor  Bradford's  papers. 

In  1640  the  general  court  desired  that  William  Bradford  should 
make  to  them  a  surrender  of  the  charter,  which  he  willingly  did.  In 
Bradford's  History  of  Plymouth  Plantation,  page  372,  these  quaint  words 
of  the  instrument  may  be  found: 

"Whereas  William  Bradford,  and  diverce  others  ye  first  instru- 
ments of  God  in  the  begining  of  this  great  work  of  plantation,  to- 
^eather  with  such  as  ye  all  adoring  hand  of  God  in  his  providence 
soone  added  unto  them,  have  been  at  very  great  charges  to  procure 
ye  lands,  priviledges,  &  freedoms  from  all  intanglements  of  grants, 
purchases,  and  payments  of  debts,  &c.,  by  reason  whereof  ye  title  to 
ye  day  of  these  presents  remaineth  in  ye  said  William  Bradford,  his 
heires,  associats,  and  assignes:  now,  for  ye  better  settling  of  ye  estate 
of  the  said  lands  (contained  in  ye  grant  or  pattente,)  the  said  William 


CHARTERS,  GRANTS   AND   INDIAN   DEEDS.  35 

Bradford,  and  those  first  instruments  termed  &  called  in  sundry  or- 
ders upon  public  recorde,  ye  Purchasers,  or  Old  comers;  witnes  2, 
in  spetiall,  the  one  bearing  date  ye  3.  of  March,  1639,  the  other  in 
Des:  the  1,  Ano  1640,  whereunto  the  presents  have  spetiall  rela- 
tion and  agreemente,  and  wherby  they  are  distinguished  from 
other  ye  freemen  &  inhabitants  of  ye  said  corporation.  Be  it  knowne 
unto  all  men,  therfore,  by  these  presents,  that  the  said  William 
Bradford,  for  him  selfe,  his  heires,  together  with  ye  said  pur- 
chasers, doe  only  reserve  unto  them  selves,  their  heires,  and  as- 
signes,  those  3  tractes  of  land  mentioned  in  ye  said  resolution, 
order,  and  agreemente,  bearing  date  ye  first  of  Des:  1640.  viz.  first, 
from  ye  bounds  of  Yarmouth  3  miles  to  ye  eastward  of  Naem- 
schatet,  and  from  sea  to  sea,  cross  the  neck  of  land." 

Two  other  tracts  of  land  were  also  reserved,  and  the  closing 
words  of  the  long  document  are:  "  In  witness  wherof,  the  said 
William  Bradford  hath  in  publick  courte  surrendered  the  said  let- 
ters patents  actually  into  ye  hands  &  power  of  ye  said  courte, 
binding  him  selfe,  his  heires,  executors,  administrators,  and  assignes 
to  deliver  up  whatsoever  spetialties  are  in  his  hands  that  doe  or 
may  concerne  the  same." 

It  was  conceded  that  the  Indians  had  a  natural  right  or  title  in  the 
lands,  which  must  be  obtained  by  the  settlers  after  the  court  had 
granted  them  permission  to  establish  a  plantation.  A  verbal  grant 
from  the  Indians  was  at  first  considered  sufficient,  but  subsequently 
the  title  from  the  natives  was  passed  by  instruments,  which  were 
legal  in  their  form,  whether  they  were  understood  by  the  natives  or 
not.  Doctor  Holmes  in  his  annals  quotes  the  words  of  Governor 
Winslow,  "  that  the  English  did  not  possess  one  foot  of  land  in  the 
colony  but  was  fairly  obtained  by  honest  purchase  from  the  Indian 
proprietors." 

The  first  permission  to  settle  on  the  Cape  was  given  by  the  Ply- 
mouth colony  on  the  3d  of  April,  1637,  under  which  so-called  grant 
the  first  settlement  at  Sandwich  was  begun,  and  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  procure  of  the  Indians  a  title  to  the  lands.  Grants  were 
given  in  1639  for  the  settlement  of  Mattacheese — now  Barnstable, 
Yarmouth  and  Dennis.  In  settling  these  plantations  a  suitable  loca- 
tion was  first  purchased  of  the  Indians;  and  subsequently,  as  occasion 
required,  deeds  of  adjoining  territory  were  obtained.  Reservations 
were  made  for  the  Indians,  provided  that  if  they  sell  it  be  to  the  in- 
habitants of  the  plantation;  and,  although  all  purchases  were  carefully 
made  by  a  committee  appointed  by  court,  misunderstandings  arose 
between  the  whites  and  Indians.  In  1641,  after  purchasing  of  Ne- 
paiton  lands  in  Barnstable,  other  agreements  were  made  to  build  for 
him,  "  in  addition  to  what  said  Nepaiton  hath  already  had  one  dwel- 


36  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ling  house  with  a  chamber  floored  with  boards,  with  a  chimney  and 
an  oven  therein." 

A  deed  or  receipt,  probably  written  by  Anthony  Thacher,  for 
lands  in  Yarmouth,  will  acquaint  the  reader  with  the  form  used  when 
other  claimants  might  appear :  "  Witnesseth  these  presents,  that  I, 
Masshantampaigne,  Sagamore,  doth  acknowledge  that  I  have  received 
and  had  of  Anthony  Thacher,  John  Crow,  and  Thomas  Howes,  all  and 
every  particular  thing  and  things  that  I  was  to  have  for  all  and  every 
part  and  parcel  of  lands:  *  *  *  which  said  lands  I  sold  to  Mr.  William 
Bradford.  I  say  I  acknowledge  myself  fully  satisfied  and  paid  *  * 
and  I  do  forever  acquit  the  said  Thatcher,  Crow,  and  Howes.  In  witness 
whereof,  etc..  May  8, 1657."  To  this  the  sachem  named  made  his  mark 
in  presence  of  witnesses,  who  also  signed  the  deed  as  such;  and  one  or 
more  of  these  witnesses  certified  in  1674,  before  an  ofiScer,  that  the  sa- 
chem "set  his  hand  to  it"  and  "he  heard  him  own  it."  In  similar  form 
and  import  were  deeds  or  receipts  given  by  lyanough  and  sachems 
of  the  South  sea  Indians.  In  1640  a  grant  for  the  settlement  of  Nau- 
set,  and  subsequently  one  for  Monomoyick,  were  obtained  from  the 
Plymouth  court.  Deeds  were  obtained  from  the  sachems  Quason, 
Mattaquason  and  George,  and  the  towns  of  Eastham,  Orleans,  Well- 
fleet  and  Chatham  were  subsequently  organized.  Falmouth  and  Har- 
wich still  later  were  purchased  in  the  same  manner.  In  1660  a  tract 
of  10,500  acres  was  granted  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Massipees,  and 
the  following  year  a  large  tract  was  granted  to  Richard  Bourne  at 
the  west  of  the  Massipee  lands.  The  court  gave  grants  for  many 
smaller  portions  of  land  during  the  growth  of  the  towns  on  the  Cape, 
and  in  1655,  by  order  of  the  court,  every  town  was  required  to  pur- 
chase a  book  in  which  all  titles  of  land  should  be  recorded.  These 
were  called  "  proprietors'  records,"  and  were  very  essential  prior  to 
the  formation  of  the  county  and  establishment  of  an  office  ior  the 
registry  of  deeds. 

The  usurpations  of  power  by  Andros  in  1686,  his  declaration  that 
"  Indian  deeds  were  no  better  than  the  scratch  of  a  bear's  paw,"  and 
his  summons  for  the  surrender  of  charters,  occasioned  alarm  to  the 
coloni.sts  of  the  Cape,  as  well  as  the  main  land.  In  1690  the  Rev. 
Ichabod  Wiswall  and  others  from  this  colony  went  to  England  to  ob- 
tain a  restoration  of  the  old  or  solicit  a  new  charter.  The  restoration 
of  the  old  was  refused  and  a  new  one  promised.  The  towns  of  Barn- 
stable county  paid  their  proportion  of  the  expenses  to  obtain  a  new 
charter. 

The  charter  of  October  7,  1691,  granted  by  William  and  Mary, 
united  the  colonies  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  the  province  of  Maine, 
Acadia,  and  New  Plymouth,  including  the  Cape,  into  one  province, 
called  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England.   Four 


CHARTERS,  GRANTS   AND   INDIAN   DEEDS.  37 

of  the  twenty-eight  councillors  elected  were  to  be  from  the  former 
New  Plymouth,  which  gave  to  the  Cape  its  representation,  and  in 
1692  the  new  privileges  were  enjoyed  after  the  arrival  of  Sir  William 
Phipps,  the  new  governor,  with  the  charter. 

The  only  privilege  reserved  to  the  consolidated  colonies  by  the 
new  charter  was  the  right  of  choosing  representatives  by  the  people, 
the  crown  reserving  the  right  of  appointing  the  governor,  lieutenant 
governor  and  secretary.  From  the  first  settlement  of  the  Cape  until 
1692  this  part  of  the  colony  of  Plymouth  bore  its  full  share  of  priv- 
ileges under  the  charters  enumerated;  and  then,  when  included  in  the 
Massachusetts  charter,  this  county  was  ably  represented  in  public 
affairs  and  responsibilities.  The  governors  were  appointed  by  the 
crown,  during  the  existence  of  the  last  charter,  until  October  26, 1780, 
when  the  federal  constitution  became  the  supreme  law,  vesting  all 
powers  in  the  people  and  annulling  all  charters. 


CHAPTER  V. 


CIVIL   HISTORY  AND   INSTITUTIONS. 


Basis  of  Civil  Government.— Erection  of  the  County.— Political  History.— Councillors  — 
Senators.-  Representatives.-  Sheriffs.—  Registers.— County  Institutions.— Federal 
Institutions. — Custom  House. — Lighthouses.- Life  Saving  Service. 


THE  desire  for  religious  freedom  possessed  by  our  ancestors,  not- 
withstanding their  peculiar  inconsistencies  as  they  seem  to  us  of 
the  present  day,  established  on  a  broad  and  comprehensive 
basis  the  idea  of  civil  liberty.  Colonies  were  settled  by  churches,  and 
as  such  the  religious  body  instituted  the  law  and  government.  No 
one  could  be  a  freeman  and  co-operate  in  the  affairs  of  the  church  or 
the  body  politic  unless  he  was  a  church  member;  and  under  this  rule 
the  church  gave  or  refused  him  the  right  to  settle.  The  tyranny  of 
the  hierarchy  drove  the  Puritans  to  this  shore;  this  spirit,  continued 
by  the  Puritans,  forced  malcontents  to  found  new  plantations  where 
they  could  establish  civil  and  religious  liberty  for  themselves,  and 
this  has  thrown  open  to  the  land  the  gates  of  liberty,  never  to  be 
again  closed.  In  1636,  when  the  trade  of  the  original  colony  had  con- 
siderably increased  and  other  plantations  were  about  to  be  established, 
the  court  of  associates  set  forth  the  first  declaration  of  rights,  which 
ordained  that  no  act,  imposition,  law  or  ordinance  should  be  imposed 
on  the  colonists,  at  that  or  any  future  time,  without  the  consent  of  the 
body  of  associates  or  their  representatives,  legally  assembled.  Enact- 
ments were  made  the  same  year  regarding  the  election  at  Plymouth 
of  a  governor  and  assistants  by  the  freemen  in  person,  or  by  proxy, 
and  the  trial  of  important  suits  or  offenses  by  jury.  Religion  was  in- 
tended to  be  the  basis  of  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical  government;  but 
here  in  the  remote  wilderness  these  pilgrims  first  conceived  and  ex- 
emplified the  principle  that  the  will  of  the  majority  shall  govern — the 
foundation  of  American  liberty.  In  planting  a  church  they  founded 
an  empire. 

The  first  and  each  succeeding  plantation  established  upon  territory 
embraced  in  Barnstable  county  was  composed  of  people  imbued  with 
these  principles,  from  which  have  arisen  the  present  town  govern- 
ments. 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND    INSTITUTIONS. 


39 


In  1643  the  towns  then  existing  on  the  Cape  as  part  of  the  Ply- 
mouth colony  were  joined  with  others  in  the  confederation  of  the 
United  Colonies  of  New  England,  which,  with  some  slight  changes, 
was  continued  until  1685,  when  the  charters  of  the  several  colonies 
of  the  province  were,  in  effect,  vacated  by  a  commission  of  King 
James  II.  The  spirit  of  confederation  had  taught  the  colonies  to  act 
together  when  common  dangers  had  menaced,  and  here  was  the  germ 


of  the  present  national  system,  reserving  to  the  towns  their  own  local 
government. 

In  the  division  of  Plymouth  colony  into  three  counties — Plymouth, 
Bristol  and  Barnstable — in  1685,  the  county  of  Barnstable  was  incor- 
porated June  second.  The  history  of  this  county  in  its  relation  to  the 
European  race  may  be  dated  from  its  first  exploration;  but  its  civil 
history  must  be  regarded  as  beginning  with  its  incorporation  in  1685. 
Sandwich,  Barnstable,  Yarmouth  and  Eastham  had  been  previously 


40  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

incorporated  as  towns;  Falmouth,  Harwich,  Truro  and  Monomoy,  soon 
after  made  towns,  were  plantations  assuming  rights  of  self  govern- 
ment; and  since  the  formation  of  the  county,  Mashpee  has  been  in- 
corporated, Wellfleet  and  Orleans  set  off  from  Eastham,  Brewster 
from  Harwich,  Dennis  from  Yarmouth,  and  Bourne  from  Sandwich. 
Sippecan,  or  Rochester,  was  temporarily  annexed  to  this  county,  but 
was  transferred  to  Plymouth  county. 

Barnstable  was  designated  as  the  shire  town,  where  a  court  house 
was  at  once  erected  adjoining  the  old  training  ground  on  the  south 
side  of  the  county  road,  and  nearly  opposite  the  site  of  the  present 
Baptist  church  in  Barnstable  village.  The  second  court  house  was 
erected  in  1774,  and  after  the  completion  of  the  present  court  house 
it  was  purchased  by  the  Baptist  society,  turned  to  face  westward,  and 
remodeled  to  its  present  form,  and  since  has  been  the  Baptist  church 
of  the  village.  The  officers  for  the  new  county  were  appointed  at  its 
incorporation,  and  the  body  corporate  assumed  its  distinctive  civil 
jurisdiction  over  the  same  territory  now  comprising  its  more  numer- 
ous towns. 

In  1691  the  rights  of  general  suffrage  and  more  liberal  local  legis- 
lation in  the  towns  were  guaranteed  by  the  accession  to  the  English 
throne  of  William  and  Mary,  who  united  the  colonies  and  formed  the 
province  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  The  powers  of  the  towns  were  in- 
creased, and  the  New  England  town  system  became  a  model  for 
municipal  imitation,  inaugurating  a  method  of  control  over  local 
affairs  that  should  regulate,  like  the  governor  of  the  engine,  the  entire 
machinery  of  the  government.  The  county,  as  a  confederation  of 
towns  with  sovereign  powers,  is  a  concentration  of  these  corporate 
bodies,  combining  increased  strength  that  shall  comparatively  more 
advance  the  social  and  civil  affairs  of  the  body  politic. 

An  attempt  was  made  in  1734,  by  petitions  in  behalf  of  the  lower 
towns,  to  have  the  county  divided  and  those  towns  set  off  as  a  distinct 
county;  but  failing  in  this,  the  towns  petitioned  for  the  abolishment 
of  some  of  the  courts  annually  held  at  the  court  house.  In  the  civil 
history  of  the  county  no  bitter  party  strife  has  interrupted  the  har- 
monious execution  of  its  duly  constituted  powers,  and  especially  may 
this  assertion  be  applied  to  its  history  since  1774.  At  that  date  the 
term  whig  was  given  to  those  who  were  in  favor  of  resisting  the  tax- 
ations and  aggressions  of  Great  Britain;  and  to  those  who  were  will- 
ing to  acquiesce  in  the  demands  the  name  tory  was  applied.  Among 
other  exactions  Great  Britain  assumed  the  right  to  appoint  the  council, 
and  also  gave  the  sheriff  the  right  to  appoint  the  jurors — rights  be- 
longing to  and  that  had  long  been  enjoyed  by  the  body  politic.  This 
aroused  the  indignation  of  many  of  the  whigs  of  the  upper  part  of 
the  county,  who  determined  to  prevent  the  September  sitting  of  the 


CIVIL  HISTORY  AND   INSTITUTIONS.  41 

court  of  common  pleas,  and  to  this  end  hastened  to  Barnstable.  The 
concourse  of  people  that  had  gathered  on  the  way,  and  had  been  in- 
creased by  additions  at  the  county  seat,  took  possession  of  the  grounds 
in  front  of  the  court  house  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  judges  to  open 
the  court.  When  the  judges  appeared  they  were  warned  not  to  open 
the  session,  not  to  assemble  as  a  court  nor  do  any  business  as  such. 
The  people  were  assured  by  the  judges  that  the  jurors  had  beein 
drawn  from  the  boxes  and  the  court  was  legal;  but  the  people  per- 
sisted in  their  determined  opposition  and  the  session  was  not  held. 
Later,  the  military  and  civil  officers  of  the  county  who  held  appoint- 
ments under  the  king  were  requested  to  resign,  with  which  request  they 
willingly  complied.  This  spirit  was  abandoned  soon  after  the  declar- 
ation of  peace  between  the  countries,  as  also  were  the  names  with 
which  the  parties  had  stigmatized  each  other.  The  revolt  of  the  col- 
onies and  their  confederation  enlarged  the  powers  and  increased  the 
strength  of  the  existing  corporate  bodies,  in  the  enjoyment  of  which 
Barnstable  county  is  no  exception. 

Soon  after  those  stirring  times  a  county  building  was  erected  on 
the  high  ground  just  east  of  the  Sturgis  library  building  in  Barnstable, 
which  contained  rooms  for  the  register  of  deeds  and  other  county 
officers,  as  the  second  court  house  was  used  for  courts  only.  The 
burning  of  this  edifice  during  the  night  of  October  22-3,  lb27,  was 
the  most  serious  calamity  that  has  befallen  the  county.  On  the  fly- 
leaf or  cover  of  volume  1  of  the  present  records  the  following  account 
is  written:  "  The  first  record  of  a  deed  in  the  county  was  made  Octo- 
ber 5,  1686,  by  Joseph  Lothrop,  Register.  Previous  to  that  the  records 
of  deeds  were  made  at  Plymouth  in  the  old  Colony  Records.  Since 
then  94  volumes  had  been  filled.  On  the  night  of  October  22,  1827, 
the  brick  building  erected  some  years  before  by  the  county,  and 
which  was  occupied  by  the  clerk  of  the  Judicial  and  Probate 
Courts,  and  the  Register  of  deeds  for  the  county,  was  burned.  One 
volume.  No.  61,  of  the  record  was  .saved;  ninety-three  were  burned 
with  a  large  number  of  deeds  in  the  office."  Besides  the  contents  of 
the  register's  office,  volumes  29,  44  and  46  of  the  probate  records,  and 
other  valuable  records  and  papers  were  destroyed.  To  remedy  this 
loss,  and  take  measures  for  the  erection  of  new  buildings,  an  extra 
term  of  the  court  of  sessions  was  held  January  16,  1828,  which  was 
followed,  March  10,  by  an  act  of  the  general  court,  making  it  "  the  duty 
of  the  selectmen  of  each  town  to  cause  to  be  fairly  recorded  all  deeds 
for  conveyance  of  any  real  estate  or  any  interest  therein,  lying  in 
their  respective  towns,  which  shall  be  brought  to  them  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  which  shall  bear  date  not  more  than  forty  years  back  and 
have  been  recorded  in  the  registry  of  deeds  of  the  county  before  the 
23d  of  Octobor  last;  the  said  books  of  record  then  to  be  deposited  in 


42  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

the  office  of  the  registry  of  deeds  for  the  county,"  and  to  be  as  effectual 
in  law  as  the  first  records  destroyed  by  the  fire."  As  the  result  of 
the  act  several  volumes  of  records  were  accumulated,  which,  with  the 
rapidly  increasing  volumes  of  the  usual  registry,  fill  the  available 
space  of  the  register's  office. 

In  1828  arrangements  for  the  erection  of  the  present  court  house 
were  perfected  by  the  county,  and  in  its  erection  the  people  have 
taken  the  precaution  to  have  each  of  its  offices  fire  proof.  It  is  a  neat 
and  substantial  stone  building,  with  ample  accommodations  for  all 
courts  and  other  business  of  the  county.  The  first  payment  on  the 
contract  for  its  erection  was  ordered  by  the  county  commissioners  in 
September,  1831,  and  the  last  in  July,  1834.  The  historic  bell,  sold  to 
the  county  for  the  court  house  by  the  church  in  Sandwich,  in  1763,  is 
preserved  with  care,  and  may  be  seen  hanging  from  an  arch  in  the 
office  of  the  clerk  of  the  court. 

The  exact  date  of  the  erection  of  the  first  jail  can  not  be  deter- 
mined. The  loss  of  the  records  of  the  county  has,  without  doubt,  ex- 
tinguished all  recorded  evidence,  and  the  date  cannot  be  determined 
by  tradition.  In  1686  we  find  a  court  was  called  by  proper  authority 
to  consider  the  erection  of  a  jail  or  place  of  confinement  in  each  of 
the  new  counties.  Whenever  erected  it  was  a  primitive  concern,  and 
stood  upon  what  is  known  as  Jail  -street,  near  the  premises  of  Gus- 
tavus  A.  Hinckley,  Barnstable;  and  about  1820  the  second  was  erected 
near  the  first,  and  was  a  substantial  stone  structure,  used  as  a  iail  un- 
til 1878,  when  the  material  was  utilized  in  the  foundation  of  the  en- 
largement of  the  present  court  house.  The  present  jail,  in  rear  of 
the  court  house,  was  erected  in  1878,  and  the  prisoners  were  trans- 
ferred to  it  on  the  16th  of  May,  1879. 

Councillors.— This  office  was  created  by  the  charter  of  William 
and  Mary  in  1691,  and  the  following  year,  under  Governor  Phipps, 
these  officers  were  first  elected.  Of  the  governor's  council  four  of  the 
number  were  elected  from  that  portion  of  the  province  formerly 
known  as  Plymouth  colony,  and  of  these  two  were  chosen  from  this 
county,  and  one  other  had  formerly  resided  here.  From  the  adoption 
of  the  state  constitution  until  1840  the  governor's  council  each  year 
consisted  of  nine  persons,  chosen  by  the  legislature  from  those  elected 
as  senators  and  councillors.  By  the  Thirteenth  amendment,  promul- 
gated in  April,  1840,  the  nine  councillors  were  for  fifteen  years  chos6n 
by  the  legislature  from  among  the  people  at  large,  but  the  Sixteenth 
amendment,  promulgated  in  May,  1856,  inaugurated  the  present  sys- 
tem, whereby  the  state  is  divided  into  eight  districts,  each  of  which 
annually  elects  one  of  the  councillors.  Prior  to  1855  Elijah  Swift  of 
Falmouth,  Seth  Crowell  of  Dennis,  Solomon  Davis  of  Truro,  and  John 
Kenrick  of  Orleans  had  been  councillors,  each  two  years.     Barnstable 


PBINT. 
E.     BIEH3TADT,     N. 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND   INSTITUTIONS.  43 

county  has,  since  1855,  formed  a  part  of  the  First  district.  The  fol- 
lowing named  residents  of  this  county  have  been  members  of  the 
executive  council  since  the  state  was  divided  into  councillor  districts: 
Charles  F.  Swift  of  Yarmouth,  iu  1860;  Marshall  S.  Underwood  of 
Dennis,  in  1869-1871;  Joseph  K.  Baker  of  Dennis,  in  1875-1878. 

The  present  councillor  from  this  district  is  Isaac  N.  Keith*  of 
Bourne,  who  was  elected  in  1888  and  re-elected  in  1889.  He  is  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Rev.  James  Keith,  who  came  to  America  about  1660, 
and  was  settled  in  the  ministry  at  Bridgewater,  where  he  labored 
fifty-six  years,  and  where  he  died  in  1719,  aged  seventy-six.  From 
him  are  descended  all  who  bear  his  family  name  in  this  country.  The 
family,  which  is  a  very  ancient  one,  came  originally  from  Scotland. 
The  following  historical  sketch  is  from  the  "  Peerage  of  Scotland," 
published  at  Edinburgh  in  1834.  "  This  ancient  family  derived  its 
origin  frjom  one  Robert,  a  chieftain  among  the  Catti,  from  which  came 
the  surname  Keith.  At  the  battle  of  Panbridge,  in  1006,  he  slew 
with  his  own  hands  Camus,  general  of  the  Danes;  and  King  Malcom, 
perceiving  this  achievement,  dipped  his  fingers  in  Camus'  blood  and 
drew  red  strokes  or  pales  on  the  top  of  Robert's  shield,  which  have 
ever  since  been  the  armorial  bearings  of  his  descendants.  In  1010 
he  was  made  hereditary  Marischal  of  Scotland,  and  was  rewarded 
with  a  barony  in  East  Lothian,  which  was  called  Keith-Marischal  after 
his  own  name."  It  should  be  said  that  Rev.  James  Keith  was  educated 
at  Marischal  College.  Aberdeen,  an  institution  founded  by  one  of  the 
family,  George,  fifth  Earl. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Keith  was  Isaac,  who  was  born  at  Tamworth 
Iron  Works,  N.  H.,  July  13,  1807,  and  removed  to  Bridgewater,  the 
home  of  his  ancestors,  in  1814.  He  came  to  Sandwich  in  1828,  and 
settled  in  West  Sandwich,  now  Sagamore,  in  the  town  of  Bourne, 
commencing  business  therewith  one  Mr.  Ryder,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Ryder  &  Keith,  carriage  manufacturers.  Mr.  Ryder  retiring  from 
the  firm  in  1830,  from  that  time  until  his  death  Mr.  Keith  conducted  the 
business  under  his  own  name,  laying  the  foundation  of  the  present  Keith 
Manufacturing  Company.  Mr.  Keith  was  a  prominent  and  estimable 
citizen,  always  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  town  of  his  adoption. 
He  was  married  in  1829  to  Delia  B.  Swift  of  Sandwich.  He  died  April 
8,  1870,  leaving  two  daughters  and  two  sons.  The  youngest  is  Isaac 
N.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  was  born  November  14,  1838. 

He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Sandwich.  In  1858  he 
learned  the  business  of  telegraphy,  which  he  followed  for  two  years; 
was  then  chosen  superintendent  of  the  Cape  Cod  and  Cape  Ann  dis- 
tricts of  the  American  Telegraph  Company.     September  7,  1865,  he 

*  This  sketch  of  Mr.  Keith  is  by  his  friend  and  neighbor,  Charles  Dillingham.  The 
Councillor's  home  at  Sagamore  is  the  subject  of  an  illustration  in  the  history  of  that 
village. 


44  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

was  married  to  Miss  Eliza  Frances  Smith,  daughter  of  Eben  S.  Smith, 
Esq.,  of  Provincetown.  In  October,  1867,  he  resigned  his  position 
with  the  telegraph  company  and  commenced  with  his  father  the  busi- 
ness of  railway  car  manufacturing,  of  which  he  is  now  the  sole 
owner  and  general  manager.  In  these  days  of  labor  troubles,  his 
relations  with  his  employees  have  always  been  of  the  most  pleasant 
character.  His  sound  judgment,  business  capacity  and  strict  integrity 
have  secured  to  him  a  large  property  as  well  as  the  high  esteem  and 
confidence  of  his  fellow  townsmen  and  business  acquaintances.  As 
an  evidence  of  this  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention  that  when- 
ever he  has  been  presented  to  the  electors  of  his  native  town  he  has 
invariably  run  ahead  of  his  ticket.  Mr.  Keith  was  twice  elected  to 
the  Massachusetts  house  of  representatives,  1874  and  1875;  twice  sen- 
ator from  the  Cape  Senatorial  District,  1886  and  1887;  and  in  1888  and 
again  in  1889  was  elected  one  of  the  executive  council  from  the  First 
Councillor  district,  which  office  he  now  holds. 

If  it  ever  be  allowable  to  write  of  the  living,  what  perhaps  more 
appropriately  belongs  to  the  province  of  the  historian,  it  can  truth- 
fully be  said  of  Mr.  Keith,  that  the  ancient  motto  of  the  family, 
''Veritas  Vincit,"  has  never  suffered  violence  at  his  hands. 

Senators. — The  constitution  of  1780,  providing  that  the  senate 
should  consist  of  forty  members,  made  Barnstable  county- a  district 
entitled  to  elect  annually  one  senator.  By  frequent  re-elections  six- 
teen men  only  were  elected  within  the  first  sixty  years.  Their  names 
and  the  term  of  service,  with  year  of  first  election,  were:  1780,  Solo- 
mon Freeman,  Harwich,  19  years;  1788,  Thomas  Smith,  Sandwich, 
1;  1798,  David  Thacher,  Yarmouth,  1;  1801,  John  Dillingham,  Har- 
wich, 6;  1804,  Richard  Sears,  Chatham,  1;  1806,  James  Freeman,  Sand- 
wich, 2;  1808,  Joseph  Dimmick,  Falmouth,  3;  1811,  Timothy  Phinney, 
Barnstable,  1;  1813,  Wendell  Davis,  Sandwich,  2;  1815,  Solomon  Free- 
man, Brewster,  6;  1821,  Elijah  Cobb,  Brewster,  2;  1823,  Braddock 
Dimmick,  Falmouth,  3;  1826,  Nymphas  Marston,  Barnstable,  2;  1828, 
Elisba  Pope,  Sandwich,  4;  1831,  John  Doane,  Orleans,  3;  1834,  Charles 
Marston,  Barnstable,  6. 

By  the  terms  of  the  Thirteenth  amendment  to  the  constitution, 
promulgated  April,  1840,  the  county  was  for  seventeen  years  entitled 
to  two  seats  in  the  state  senate.  They  were  occupied  by  the  follow- 
ing named  persons,  the  number  of  years  noted  after  each:  1841,  Seth 
Crowell,  Dennis,  2  years;  1841,  Charles  Marston,  Barnstable,  1;  1842, 
Solomon  Davis,  Truro,  4;  1843,  John  B.  Dillingham,  Sandwich,  2;  1846, 
Zeno  Scudder,  Barnstable,  3;  1846,  Barnabas  Freeman,  Eastham,  2; 
1848,  George  Copeland,  Brewster,  2;  1849,  John  Jenkins,  Falmouth,  2; 
1850,  Stephen  Hilliard,  Provincetown,  2;  1851,  Zenas  D.  Basssett, 
Barnstable,  2;  1852,  Cyrus  Weeks,  Harwich,  2;  1853,  James  B.  Crocker, 


(ytat^ 


PRINT. 
6       BrEHSTAOT, 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND   INSTITUTIONS.  45 

Barnstable,  2;  1854,  Robert  Y.  Paine,  Wellfleet,  1;  1855,  Sylvester 
Baxter,  Yarmouth,  2;  1855,  Lewis  L.  Sellew,  Provincetown,  1;  1856, 
Alfred  Kenrick,  Orleans,  1;  1857,  John  W.  Atwood.  Chatham,  2. 

By  the  Twenty-second  amendment  of  May,  1857,  the  state  was  re- 
districted,  and  Falmouth,  Sandwich  and  Barnstable  were  joined  with 
Dukes  and  Nantucket  counties  to  compose  the  Island  district,  while 
the  Cape  district  comprised  Yarmouth  and  the  nine  towns  below. 
This  apportionment  existed  until  1877,  during  which  time  the  Cape 
district  was  represented  in  1858,  1859  by  Charles  F.  Swift,  Yarmouth; 
1860,  1861  by  Marshal  S.  Underwood,  Dennis;  1862,  1863,  R.  H.Libby, 
Wellfleet;  1864,  1865,  Freeman  Cobb,  Provincetown;  1866,  Reuben 
Nickerson,  Eastham;  1867,  1868,  Chester  Snow,  Harwich;  1869-1871, 
NathanielE.  Atwood,  Provincetown;  1872,  1873,  Joseph  K.  Baker, 
Dennis;  1874,  1875,  Thomas  N.  Stone,  Wellfleet;  1876,  Jonathan  Hig- 
gins,  Orleans. 

The  Island  district  was  represented  within  this  twenty  years  by 
Barnstable  county  men  as  follows:  1861,  1862,  Charles  Dillingham, 
Sandwich;  1863,  1864,  Nathan  Crocker,  Barnstable;  1867,  1868,  Eras- 
mus Gbuld,  Fal-mouth;  1869,  1870,  George  A.  King,  Barnstable;  1873, 
1874,  Francis  A.  Nye,  Falmouth;  1875,  1876,  Ezra  C.  Howard,  Sand- 
wich. 

Since  1877  and  until  the  present  the  three  counties — Banstable, 
Dukes  and  Nantucket — have  composed  the  Cape  district,  which  was 
represented  in  1877-1879  by  John  B.  D.  Cogswell  of  Yarmouth;  1880, 
1881,  by.  Samuel  Snow,  Barnstable:  1882,  1883,  Joseph  P.  Johnson, 
Provincetown;  1884-1886,  Howes  Norris,  Cottage  City;  1887,  1888, 
Isaac  N.  Keith,  Bourne. 

David  Fisk  of  Dennis  was  elected  in  1888  for  the  session  of  1889, 
and  by  re-election  is  the  present  senator.  He  is  one  of  four  brothers 
of  that  family  name  residing  in  South  Dennis,  who  are  intimately 
blended  with  the  civil  history  of  their  native  town,  as  well  as  the 
county.  Of  his  ancestors  little  is  known  beyond  his  grandfather,  Nathan 
Fisk,  who  settled  during  the  last  century  in  Dennis.  His  son  Nathan, 
born  in  1801,  married  Polly,  daughter  of  Eliphalet  Baker,  one  of  the 
descendants  of  the  large  family  of  that  name  scattered  over  the  Cape. 
Their  children  were  eight  in  number,  four  of  whom  survive:  Uriah 
B.,  Luther,  David  and  Henry  H.  Fisk. 

David  Fisk  was  born  May  6,  1838,  at  West  Dennis,  where  hjs  boy- 
hood was  passed  in  acquiring  such  an  education  as  was  obtainable  in 
the  public  and  private  schools,  until  the  age  of  fifteen,  when  he  went 
to  sea,  before  the  mast.  Several  years  were  passed  in  ascending  the 
scale,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  acted  as  master.  In  this  capac- 
ity he  continued  for  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  coasting  and  occasion- 
ally making  a  voyage  to  foreign  ports.     In  1874  he  retired  and  has 


46  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

since  acted  as  the  agent  for  Fisk  Brothers,  in  building  vessels  and  in 
other  shipping  business.  He  was  married  in  1860  to  Mary  E.  Wixon, 
who  died  leaving  two  daughters:  Marion  and  Alice  M.  In  1886  he 
married  for  his  second  wife,  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Zeno  Gage. 

As  soon  as  he  was  permanently  retired  from  the  sea  he  was  chosen 
by  the  republican  party  to  serve  as  selectman,  assessor,  overseer  of 
the  poor,  and  surveyor  of  the  public  roads,  which  duties  he  declined 
after  serving  six  years-.  He  also  served  Uis  town  in  the  school  com- 
mittee three  years,  commencing  with  1875.  His  ability  being  appre- 
ciated, he  was,  in  the  autumn  of  1881,  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  legisla- 
ture, and  re-elected  in  1832.  No  happier  tribute  could  have  been  paid 
to  him  than  his  nomination  by  acclamation  and  the  election  in  1888  to 
a  seat  in  the  senate  and  again  in  1889 — the  highest  honor  of  his  dis- 
trict. His  advancement  has  been  as  marked  and  he  has  been  as  suc- 
cessful on  land  as  on  sea,  every  position  being  filled  with  that  natural 
energy  and  decision  which  inspires  confidence  in  his  ability. 

He  is  liberal  in  his  views  in  all  matters  of  church  and  state,  and  is 
endowed  with  a  firm  and  lasting  friendship.  In  his  business  and 
official  relations  he  is  indefatigable  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty. 
His  social  proclivities  induced  him  to  unite  with  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity, and  there,  too,  he  has  been  elevated  to  the  highest  offices  of  the 
lodge.  In  every  position  where  he  has  presided  or  mingled  in  the 
aflFairs  of  his  fellow  townsmen,  the  same  firmness,  tempered  with  jus- 
tice, has  characterized  him,  and  his  success  is  established. 

Representatives. — After  Governor  Bradford  was  elected  his  ill- 
ness in  1621  made  it  advisable  that  he  have  an  assistant;  this  was 
continued,  and  in  1624  five  assistants  were  chosen.  In  1633  the  num- 
ber was  increased  to  seven,  and  not  until  the  arrival  of  Andros  was 
this  branch  of  the  civil  government  discontinued. 

The  election  of  deputies  by  the  towns,  as  soon  as  they  were  legally 
incorporated,  was  a  change  to  a  representative  form  of  government. 
The  first  representative  assembly  met  June  4,  1639,  at  Plymouth,  to 
which  Sandwich,  Yarmouth  and  Barnstable  sent  each  two  deputies. 
This  was  an  enlargement  as  well  as  division  of  the  powers  of  the  gov- 
ernment, as  in  these  deputies  were  conjointly  invested  powers  which 
heretofore  had  been  exercised  by  the  governor  and  his  assistants  only. 
The  extension  of  the  settlements  had  created  a  necessity  for  delega- 
ting power  to  deputies  and  representatives,  and  thus  the  present  repre- 
sentative form  of  government  was  inaugurated.  The  constitution  of 
1780  provided  that  towns  already  incorporated  and  having  160  ratable 
polls  or  less,  should  be  entitled  to  one  representative,  to  be  elected  in 
May  of  each  year;  and  corporate  towns  containing  375  ratable  polls, 
two  representatives.  Under  this  provision  the  representatives  of  the 
respective  towns  are  given  in  the  history  of  each,  being  considered  as 
town  officers  until  1857. 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND    INSTITUTIONS.  47 

Since  1831  the  legislative  year  begins  the  first  Wednesday  in  Jan- 
uary, by  amendment  Ten,  promulgated  May  11th  of  that  year,  the  elec- 
tions being  held  in  November.  The  amendment  of  1836,  article  Twelve, 
changed  the  basis  of  representation,  the  census  of  ratable  polls  by 
towns  to  be  taken  in  May,  1837,  and  every  tenth  year  thereafter.  This 
provided  that  each  town  of  three  hundred  ratable  polls  might  elect 
one,  and  for  every  additional  450  polls,  another  representative  might 
be  elected.  By  an  equitable  rule,  towns  having  less  than  three  hun- 
dred polls  were  to  be  represented  a  portion  of  the  ten  years  only;  and 
the  reader  may  not  expect  to  find  the  smaller  towns  represented  every 
year,  while  the  larger  may  have  more  than  one  for  a  portion  of  the 
time. 

This  arrangement  was  superseded  in  1840  by  article  Thirteen  of 
amendments.which  provided  that  the  next  decade  should  begin  in  1841; 
that  the  rate  of  representation  be  one  for  twelve  hundred  ratable  polls 
and  two  for  thirty-six  hundred.  Under  this  rule  the  apportionment 
of  1841  entitled  each  town  of  the  county  to  one  representative,  except 
the  towns  of  Barnstable,  Sandwich  and  Eastham,  the  first  two  to  have 
two  each,  and  the  latter  only  to  have  five  within  the  ten  years.  This 
rule  of  apportionment  existed  from  1841  to  1850,  inclusive. 

The  apportionment  of  1851  gave  Barnstable  two  representatives 
each  year;  Brewster  one  for  seven  years  within  the  ten;  Eastham  for 
four  of  the  same  period;  and  every  other  town  one  each  year. 

In  May,  1857,  article  Twenty-one  provided  that  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives consist  of  240  members,  to  be  apportioned  according  to  the 
census  of  1857,  and  the  county  commissioners  were  to  district  the 
county  at  the  beginning  of  each  decade,  after  the  legislature  had  as- 
signed the  number  of  representatives  to  the  county.  The  same  amend- 
ment provided  that  the  census  shoiild  again  be  taken  in  May,  1865, 
and  every  tenth  year  thereafter,  and  the  legislature  should  apportion 
the  representatives  to  the  counties  at  the  first  session  after  the  enume- 
ration. This  made  a  radical  change  in  the  system  of  apportionment, 
and  since  the  election  of  the  representatives  in  the  fall  of  1857,  they  can 
no  longer  be  regarded  as  officers  of  the  town,  and  are  accordingly 
noticed  in  the  following  lists.  The  county  was  entitled  to  nine  rep- 
resentatives by  this  act,  and  the  commissioners  divided  the  towns  as 
follows:  The  First  district  included  Barnstable,  Sandwich  and  Fal- 
mouth, and  was  to  elect  three  representatives;  the  Second  included 
Yarmouth,  Dennis,  Harwich  and  Chatham,  with  three;  the  Third, 
Brewster,  Orleans  and  Eastham,  one;  and  the  Fourth,  Wellfleet,  Truro 
and  Provincetown,  with  two. 

As  each  person  elected  represented  the  district  in  which  he  lived, 
and  the  residence  being  indicated  with  the  name,  the  following  lists 
are  believed  to  be  explicit  as  showing  the  district  and  years  in  which 
each  man  served: 


48  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

1858.  Zenas  D.  Bassett,  Barnstable;  John  A.  Baxter,  Barnstable;  Paul 
Wing,  Sandwich;  John  W.  Atwood,  Chatham;  Thomas  Dodge,  Chat- 
ham; Luther  Studley,  Dennis;  Ira  Mayo,  Orleans;  Nathaniel  E.  At- 
wood, Provincetown;   Thomas  H.  Lewis,  Wellfleet. 

1859.  Nathaniel  Hinckley,  Barnstable;  John  S.  Fish,  Sandwich; 
William  Nye,  jr.,  Falmouth;  Benjamin  H.  Matthews,  Yarmouth; 
James  S.  Howes,  Dennis;  Nathaniel  Doane,  jr.,  Harwich;  Elijah  Cobb, 
Brewster:  Daniel  Paine,  Truro;  James  Gifford,  Provincetown. 

1860.  Ansel  Lewis,  Barnstable;  Joseph  Hoxie,  Sandwich;  William 
Nye,  jr.,  Falmouth;  Benjamin  H.  Matthews,  Yarmouth;  James  S. 
Howes,  Dennis;  Edward  Smalley,  Harwich;  Nathan  Crosby,  Barn- 
stable; Simeon  Atwood,  jr.,  Wellfleet;  James  Gifford,  Provincetown. 

1861.  John  S-  Fish,  Sandwich;  George  W.  Donaldson,  Falmouth; 
Ansel  Lewis;  Samuel  Higgins,  Chatham;  John  K.  Sears,  Yarmouth; 
Edward  Smalley,  Harwich;  Jesse  Snow,  Orleans;  Lewis  Lombard, 
Truro;  James  Gifford,  Provincetown. 

1862.  Asa  E.  Lovell,  Barnstable;  Zebedee  Green,  Sandwich,  John 
K.  Sears,  Yarmouth;  Samuel  Higgins,  Chatham;  George  W.  Donald- 
son, Falmouth;  Danforth  S.  Steel,  Harwich;  Sylvanus  Smith,  East- 
ham;  John  P.  Johnson,  Provincetown;  Benjamin  Oliver,  Wellfleet. 

1863.  Charles  Marston,  Barnstable;  Elisha  G.  Burgess,  Falmouth; 
Zebedee  Green,  Sandwich;  Isaac  B.  Young,  Chatham;  Marshall  S.  Un- 
derwood, Dennis;  Danforth  S.  Steel,  Harwich;  Truman  Doane,  Or- 
leans; Smith  K.  Hopkins,  Truro;  Benjamin  Oliver,  Wellfleet. 

1864.  Charles  Marston,  Barnstable,  E.  G.  Burgess,  Falmouth;  Ezra 
T.  Pope,  Sandwich;  Isaac  B.  Young,  Chatham;  M.  S.  Underwood, 
Dennis;  David  G.  Eldridge,  Yarmouth;  Sylvanus  Smith,  Eastham; 
David  Wiley,  Wellfleet;  Henry  Shortle,  Provincetown. 

1865.  Ezra  T.  Pope,  Sandwich;  Silas  Jones,  Falmouth;  Simeon  L. 
Leonard,  Barnstable;  David  G.  Eldridge,  Yarmouth;  Joseph  Hall, 
Dennis;  Solomon  Thacher,  Harwich;  Tully  Crosby,  Brewster;  Henry 
Shortle,  Provincetown;  Amasa  Paine,  Truro. 

1866.  Isaac  K.  Chipman,  Sandwich;  Silas  Jones,  Falmouth;  S.  L. 
Leonard,  Barnstable;  Edmund  Flinn,  Chatham;  Joseph  Hall,  Dennis; 
Solomon  Thacher,  Harwich;  Truman  Doane,  Orleans;  Freeman  A. 
Smith,  Provincetown;  Nathaniel  H.  Dill,  Wellfleet. 

The  apportionment  of  1865  for  the  next  decade  put  Barnstable, 
Sandwich,  Falmouth  and  Yarmouth  into  the  First  district  for  three 
representatives;  Dennis,  Harwich  and  Brewster  composed  the  Second, 
for  two;  Chatham  and  Orleans  made  the  Third,  for  one;  and  the  four 
lower  towns  made  the  Fourth  district,  which  was  entitled  to  two  rep- 
resentatives, all  to  be  elected  in  November,  1866.  The  several  incum- 
bents' names  and  year  in  which  each  was  in  oflBce  stand  thus: 

1867.  Isaac  K.  Chipman,  Sandwich;  George  Marston,  Barnstable; 


CIVIL   HISTORY  AND   INSTITUTIONS.  49 

Heman  B.  Chase,  Yarmouth;  Solomon  Thacher,  Harwich;  Frederick 
Hebard,  Dennis;  Edmund  Flinn,  Chatham;  Nathaniel  H.  Dill,  Well- 
fleet;  Jesse  Pendegrast,  Truro. 

1868.  Alvah  Holway,  Sandwich;  Lemuel  B.  Simmons,  Barnstable; 
Heman  B.  Chase,  Yarmouth;  Samuel  H.  Gould,  Brewster;  Seth  Cro- 
well,  Dennis;  Ensign  B.  Rogers,  Orleans:  Henry  Shortle,  Province- 
town;  John  H.  Bangs,  Eastham. 

1869.  Lemuel  B.  Simmons,  Bam.stable;  Francis  A.  Nye,  Falmouth; 
Alvah  Holway,  Sandwich;  Samuel  H.  Gould,  Brewster;  Shubael  B. 
Kelley,  Harwich;  Ensign  B.  Rogers,  Orleans;  John  C.  Peake,  Well- 
fleet;  Obadiah  S.  Brown,  Truro. 

1870.  Francis  A.  Nye,  Falmouth;  Warren  Marchant,  Sandwich; 
Henry  Goodspeed,  Barnstable;  Shubael  B.  Kelley,  Harwich;  Joseph 
K.  Baker,  jr.,  Dennis;  Thomas  Holway,  Chatham;  Joseph  P.  Johnson, 
Provincetown;  George  T.  Wyer,  Wellfleet. 

1871.  Henry  Goodspeed,  Barnstable;  J.  B.  D.  Cogswell,  Yarmouth; 
Ezra  C.  Howard,  Sandwich;  Erastus  Chase,  Harwich;  Joseph  K.  Baker, 
Dennis;  Thomas  Holway,  Chatham;  Joseph  P.  Johnson;  Provincetown; 
George  T.  Wyer,  Wellfleet. 

1872.  Ezra  C.  Howard,  Sandwich;  J.  B.  D.  Cogswell,  Yarmouth; 
Nathaniel  Sears,  Barnstable;  Erastus  Chase,  Harwich;  Zoeth  Snow, 
jr.,  Brewster;  Lot  Higgins,  Orleans;  Jesse  S.  Pendergrast,  Truro; 
Reuben  G.  Sparks,  Provincetown. 

1873.  J.  B.  D.  Cogswell,  Yarmouth;  Nathaniel  Sears,  Barnstable; 
Philip  H.  Robinson,  Sandwich;  David  P.  Howes,  Dennis;  Zoeth  Snow, 
jr.,  Brewster;  Lot  Higgins,  Orleans;  R.  G.  Sparks,  Provincetown; 
Thomas  N.  Stone,  Wellfleet. 

1874.  Levi  L.  Goodspeed,  Barnstable;  Philip  H.  Robinson,  Sand- 
wich; Joshua C.  Robinson,  Falmouth;  David  P.  Howes,  Dennis;  George 
D.  Smalley,  Harwich;  Solomon  E.  Hallett,  Chatham;  Henry  Shortle, 
Provincetown;  Lewis  Lombard,  Eastham. 

1875.  Levi  L.  Goodspeed,  Barnstable;  Joshua  C.  Robinson,  Fal- 
mouth; Isaac  N.  Keith,  Sandwich;  George  D.  Smalley,  Harwich; 
Luther  Fisk,  Dennis;  S.  Eldredge  Hallett,  Chatham;  Isaiah  A.  Small, 
Provincetown;  Edward  W.  Noble,  Truro. 

1876.  Samuel  Snow,  Barnstable;  Daniel  Wing,  Yarmouth;  I.  N. 
Keith,  Sandwich;  Freeman  Doane,  Orleans;  Isaiah  Small,  Province- 
town;  Noah  Swett,  Wellfleet;  Elisha  Crocker,  jr.,  Brewster;  Luther 
Fisk,  Dennis. 

The  relative  decrease  in  population  at  the  next  decade  left  Barn- 
stable county  entitled  to  six  representatives  from  1877  to  1886,  inclu- 
sive. Six  districts  were  formed,  with  one  representative  to  each,  the 
first  embracing  Sandwich  and  Falmouth;  the  second  Barnstable  and 
Mashpee;  the  third  Yarmouth  and  Dennis;  the  fourth  Harwich  and 
4 


60  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Chatham;  the  fifth  Brewster,  Orleans,  Eastham  and  Wellfleet;  and  the 
sixth  including  Truro  and  Provincetown.  The  representatives  dur- 
ing this  decade  with  the  year  of  service  were: 

1877.  Crocker  H.  Bearse,  Falmouth;  Samuel  Snow,  Barnstable; 
Daniel  Wing,  Yarmouth;  Abiathar  Doane,  Harwich;  Noah  Swett, 
Wellfleet;  Henry  Shortle,  Provincetown. 

1878.  Isaiah  Fish,  Sandwich;  Asa  Lovell,  Barnstable;  Thomas 
Prince  Howes,  Dennis;  Abiathar  Doane,  Harwich;  Freeman  Doane, 
Orleans;  Henry  Shortle,  Provincetown. 

1879.  Isaiah  Fish,  Sandwich;  Asa  Lovell,  Barnstable;  Thomas  P. 
Howes,  Dennis;  Rufus  Smith,  Chatham;  Elisha  Crocker,  jr.,  Brewster; 
Bangs  A.  Lewis,  Provincetown. 

1880.  James  E.  GiflFord,  Falmouth;  Clark  Lincoln,  Barnstable; 
Charles  F.  Swift,  Yarmouth;  Erastus  Nickerson,  Chatham;  Jesse  H. 
Freeman,  Wellfleet;  Joseph  P.  Johnson,  Provincetown. 

1881.  James  E.  Gifford,  Falmouth;  Clark  Lincoln,  Barnstable; 
Charles  F.  Swift,  Yarmouth;  Watson  B.  Kelley,  Harwich;  Jesse  H. 
Freeman,  Wellfleet;  Atkins  Hughes,  Truro. 

1882.  Bradford  B.  Briggs,  Sandwich;  F.  D.  Cobb,  Barnstable;  David 
Fisk,  Dennis:  Watson  B.  Kelley,  Harwich;  John  A.  Clark,  Eastham; 
Atkins  Hughes,  Truro. 

1883.  Bradford  B.  Briggs.  Sandwich;  F.  D.Cobb,  Barnstable;  David 
Fisk,  Dennis;  Clarendon  A.  Freeman,  Chatham;  Solomon  Linnell  2d, 
Orleans;  Edward  E.  Small,  Provincetown. 

1884.  Meltiah  Gifford,  Falmouth;  Zenas  E.  Crowell,  Barnstable; 
Joshua  Crowell,  Dennis;  Clarendon  A.  Freeman,  Chatham;  Solomon 
Linnell,  2d,  Orleans;  Edward  E.  Small,  Provincetown. 

1885.  Asa  P.  Tobey,  Falmouth;  Z.  E.  Crowell,  Barnstable;  Joshua 
Crowell,  Dennis;  Ambrose  N.  Doane,  Harwich;  Tully  Crosby,  jr., 
Brewster;  Benjamin  D.  Atkins,  Provincetown. 

1886.  Charles  Dillingham,  Sandwich;  Watson  F.  Hammond,  Mash- 
pee;  George  H.  Loring,  Yarmouth;  Ambrose  N.  Doane,  Harwich; 
Isaiah  C.  Young,  Wellfleet;  Benjamin  D.  Atkins,  Provincetown. 

The  present  apportionment,  made  in  1886  from  the  census  of  1885, 
entitles  the  county  to  four  representatives.  The  First  district  includes 
Dennis  and  the  six  towns  west  of  it,  and  elects  two  representatives. 
Charles  Dillingham,  Sandwich,  and  George  H.  Loring,  Yarmouth, 
represented  this  district  in  1887;  A.  R.  Eldridge,  Bourne,  and  Joshua 
Crowell,  Dennis,  represented  it  in  1888  and  1889;  and  Nathan  Edson, 
Barnstable,  and  George  E.  Clarke,  Falmouth,  in  1890. 

The  second  district,  with  one  representative,  includes  the  towns 
of  Harwich,  Chatham,  Brewster  and  Orleans.  It  was  represented  in 
1887  by  John  H.  Clark,  Brewster;  in  1888  by  Joseph  W.  Rogers,  Or- 
leans; in  1889  by  George  Eldridge,  Chatham;  and  in  1890  by  Dr. 
George  N.  Munsell,  Harwich. 


CIVIL   HISTORY  AND   INSTITUTIONS.  51 

The  lower  four  towns  are  embraced  in  the  third  district,  which 
was  represented  in  1887  by  Isaiah  C.  Young,  Wellfleet;  in  1888  and 
1889  by  David  Conwell,  Provincetown;  and  in  1890  by  Richard  A. 
Rich,  of  Truro. 

Sheriffs. — William  Bassett  was  the  first  sheriff  of  the  county.  He 
was  appointed  under  the  charter.  May  27,  1692.  The  successive  in- 
cumbents have  been:  From  1699,  Samuel  Allen;  1713,  Shubael  Gor- 
ham;  1715,  Joseph  Lothrop;  1721,  John  Russell;  1731,  John  Hedge;  1734, 
Shubael  Gorham;  1748,  John  Gorham;  1764,  Nathaniel  Stone;  1775, 
Enoch  Hallett;  1788,  Joseph  Dimmick;  1808,  James  Freeman;  1816, 
Wendell  Davis;  1823,  David  Crocker;  1843,  Nathaniel  Hinckley;  1848, 
Charles  Marston;  1852,  Daniel  Bassett;  1853,  David  Bursley;  1856, 
Charles  C.  Bearse;  1863,  David  Bursley;  1878,  Levi  L.  Goodspeed;  1880, 
Thomas  Harris;  1884,  Luther  Fisk;  1890,  Joseph  Whitcomb,  of  Pro- 
vincetown. 

In  1720  Shubael  Gorham  was  appointed  "  to  be  joint  sheriff 
with  Mr.  Lothrop."  The  office  of  "joint  sheriff"  and  "sole  sheriff" 
are  occasionally  noted  in  the  records  of  those  years. 

Registers  of  Deeds. — The  early  deeds  were  recorded  at  Plymouth, 
but  in  1686  Joseph  Lothrop,  as  register  for  the  new  county,  recorded 
on  the  fifth  of  October  the  first  deed  at  Barnstable.  The  succeeding 
registers  have  been:  William  Bassett,  John  Thacher,  Solomon  Otis, 
Edward  Bacon,  Ebenezer  Bacon,  Job  C.  Davis,  Lothrop  Davis,  Fred- 
erick Scudder,  Smith  K.  Hopkins  from  1874,  Asa  E.  Lovell  from  1877, 
and  Andrew  F.  Sherman  from  1887. 

County  Institutions. — Associations  for  more  effective  work  in 
the  church,  and  societies  for  the  advancement  of  agriculture  and 
other  arts,  have  been  formed  in  the  county  during  the  present  cen- 
tury, of  which  the  conference  of  the  Congregational  churches  is  the 
oldest.  This  was  formed  October  28,  1828,  for  the  promotion  of  a 
closer  union  of  its  ministers  and  societies.  No  written  constitution 
was  adopted  until  April  26,  1837,  and  of  this  a  revision  was  made  in 
January,  1845.  The  pastors  of  the  churches  of  the  county^  also  those 
of  Dukes  county,  with  two  lay  members  from  each  society,  constitute 
the  membership.  The  meetings  are  held  in  different  towns,  accord- 
ing to  appointment,  twice  in  each  year. 

The  Barnstable  Baptist  Association  was  organized  in  1832,  embrac- 
ing the  societies  of  that  faith  on  the  Cape,  and  at  Nantucket  and 
Martha's  Vineyard.  The  association,  consisting  now  of  fifteen 
churches,  has  a  constitution  for  its  government,  and  holds  its  sessions 
at  least  annually,  commencing  on  the  second  Wednesday  in  Septem- 
ber in  each  year.  Each  church  is  allowed  to  send  its  pastor  and  four 
lay  members,  called  messengers.  The  officers  are  a  moderator,  clerk 
and  treasurer.     To  this  association  each  church  sends  a  communica- 


62  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

tion  containing  an  account  of  its  condition  and  prosperity.  The  body 
has  certain  powers  of  its  own,  and  has  for  its  object  the  promotion  of 
piety. 

The  Barnstable  County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  was  char- 
tered in  March,  1833,  and  in  August  of  the  same  year  opened  its  prin- 
cipal office  at  Yarmouth  Port.  The  executive  officers  are  the  pres- 
ident and  the  secretary,  who  is  also  treasurer.  The  presidents  in  suc- 
cession, have  been:  David  Crocker,  Eben  Bacon,  Zenas  D.  Bassett, 
David  K.  Akin  and  Joseph  R.  Hall.  The  first  secretary  and  treas- 
urer was  Amos  Otis,  succeeded  by  his  son,  George  Otis,  and  he,  in 
January,  1882,  by  Frank  Thacher,  the  present  incumbent.  The  career 
of  this  institution  has  been  uniformly  successful.  Careful  manage- 
ment has  reduced  the  average  net  cost  of  insurance  to  one-third  the 
usual  rates. 

The  Cape  Cod  Historical  Society  was  organized  at  a  meeting  held 
at  the  camp  meeting  grove  in  Yarmouth,  August  5,  1882.  Its  object, 
as  stated  in  its  constitution,  is  "  the  collection,  preservation  and  dis- 
semination of  facts  of  local  history."  The  fee  for  membership  was 
placed  at  two  dollars,  with  a  liability  to  assessment  not  exceeding  one 
dollar  per  year.  For  life  members  the  fee  is  ten  dollars,  without  any 
additional  charges.  The  annual  meetings  of  the  society  are  held  on 
the  22d  of  February,  or  the  day  of  its  legal  observance.  At  these 
meetings  original  papers  are  read,  and  discussions  of  historical  sub- 
jects are  conducted.  When  practicable  a  summer  meeting  is  held  or 
an  excursion  provided  to  some  spot  of  historic  interest.  Three  such 
occasions  have  occurred  during  the  existence  of  the  society — one  in 
1883,  when  a  clambake  was  served  near  the  site  of  the  ancient  trad- 
ing port  of  the  pilgrims,  at  Manomet,  when  an  address  was  delivered 
by  Hon.  Thomas  Russell,  and  appropriate  speeches  made  by  other 
gentlemen.  The  following  year  the  party  visited  Sandwich  and 
inspected  the  site  of  the  Cape  Cod  ship  canal.  One  year  some  fifty 
members  and  their  friends  visited  Plymouth  and  thoroughly  explored 
its  historic  sites,  burial  grounds  and  record  halls,  and  the  rooms  of 
the  Pilgrim  Society.  Papers  have  been  prepared  and  read  at  the 
annual  meetings  of  the  society  which  are  worthy  of  preservation  in 
a  permanent  form,  and  would  make  an  interesting  and  instructive 
volume.  They  were  written  by  Josiah  Paine,  Thomas  P.  Howes, 
E.  S.  Whittemore,  Shebnah  Rich,  C.  C.  P.  Waterman  and  Charles  F. 
Swift. 

The  officers  of  the  society  are:  Charles  F.  Swift,  president;  Josiah 
Paine,  secretary;  Samuel  Snow,  treasurer.  These  persons  have  held 
their  positions  since  the  organization  of  the  society.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  additional  officers  in  1889-90:  Vice-presidents,  Thomas 
P.  Howes,  Alonzo  Tripp,  Sylvanus  B.  Phinney,  Ebenezer  S.  Whitte- 


CIVIL  HISTORY  AND   INSTITUTIONS.  63 

more,  James  Gififord,  Jesse  H.  Freeman;  executive  committee,  the 
president,  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  Joshua  C.  Howes  and  E.  B. 
Crocker. 

On  the  fifth  of  May,  1843,  pursuant  to  notice  published  in  the  two 
newspapers  in  the  county,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  court  house  in 
Barnstable  to  take  measures  for  forming  a  county  agricultural  society. 
The  project  was  greeted  with  a  smile  of  incredulity  on  the  part  of 
many  who  gauged  the  agricultural  resources  of  the  Cape  by  the 
description  of  the  witty  scribbler,  who  said  that  it  chiefly  produced 
"  huckleberry  bushes  and  mullein  stalks."  Those  who  assembled  on 
this  occasion  had  a  better  appreciation  of  the  situation  and  resources 
of  the  county.  They  were  called  to  order  by  Hon.  John  Reed  of 
Yarmouth,  and  Mr.  H.  C.  Merriam  of  Tewksbury,  who  was  a  practical 
agriculturist,  made  an  address.  Discussion  ensued,  and  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Barnstable  County  Agricultural  Society  resulted  there- 
from. The  following  were  the  first  oflBcers  of  the  society:  President, 
Hon.  John  Reed  of  Yarmouth;  vice-presidents,  Clark  Hoxie  of  Sand- 
wich, and  James  Small  of  Truro;  secretary,  Charles  H.  Bursley  of 
West  Barnstable;  treasurer,  Joseph  A.  Davis  of  Barnstable;  trustees, 
John  Jenkins,  Falmouth;  Meltiah  Bourne,  Sandwich;  Charles  Sears, 
Yarmouth;  William  Howes,  Dennis;  Enoch  Pratt,  Brewster;  Obed 
Brooks,  jr.,  Harwich;  Isaac  Hardy,  Chatham;  John  Doane,  Orleans; 
John  W.  Higgfins,  Eastham;  John  Newcomb,  Wellfleet;  Joshua  Small, 
Truro;  Thomas  Lothrop,  Provincetown. 

A  constitution  was  subsequently  formed  and  sixty  members  were 
soon  enrolled.  During  the  winter  of  1844  an  act  of  incorporation  was 
granted  by  the  legislature,  which  was  accepted  by  the  society  May  8th 
of  that  year,  and  the  office  of  corresponding  secretary  was  added, 
Frederick  Scudder  of  Barnstable  being  chosen  to  that  position.  This 
office  was  discontinued  in  1861.  The  first  exhibition  and  fair  of  the 
society  was  held  in  the  court  house,  at  Barnstable,  September  4, 1844. 
It  was  a  gratifying  success,  but  the  amount  of  premiums  awarded  was 
only  $146.  These  annual  fairs  were  continued  in  Barnstable,  except 
in  the  years  1851,  when  Orleans  was  the  place  of  meeting,  and  1862, 
when  the  fair  was  held  at  Sandwich. 

In  1867-68  a  lot  of  land  was  acquired  at  Barnstable,  and  on  it  a 
building  was  erected  for  exhibition  purposes,  and  a  hall  for  public 
meetings.  This  building  and  lot,  with  improvements  on  the  same, 
cost  $4,268;  $2,050  of  which  was  paid  by  voluntary  subscriptions.  An 
additional  plot  of  land,  valued  at  $260,  was  given  to  the  society  by 
Messrs.  Francis  Bacon  and  James  Huckins.  The  building  committee 
were:  S.  B.  Phinney,  Frederick  Parker,  S.  F.  Nye,  James  G.  Hallet, 
Elijah  Cobb,  John  A.  Baxter,  and  Obed  Brooks,  jr.  George  Marston 
and  Simeon  N.  Small  were  subsequently  added,  in  place  of  Mr.  Nye, 


64  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

deceased,  and  Mr.  Brooks,  resigned.  In  the  spring  of  1862,  this  build- 
ing having  been  destroyed  in  a  severe  gale  and  storm,  a  new  one  was 
erected  on  the  same  site,  largely  by  subscriptions  in  the  county  and 
in  Boston.  This  building  was  dedicated  October  15,  1862,  in  an 
address  by  Hon.  George  Marston.  It  has  since  been  considerably 
improved,  and  is  in  all  respects  well  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the 
society. 

The  society  has  been  the  recipient  of  two  donations  to  its  perma- 
nent fund.  The  late  Captain  John  Percival  left  five  hundred  dollars, 
the  income  of  which  is  devoted  to  premiums  to  exhibitors.  Mrs. 
Ellen  B.  Eldridge  has  also  given  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars,  in 
recognition  of  the  interest  which  her  late  husband,  Dr.  Azariah 
Eldridge,  took  in  the  affairs  of  the  society,  the  income  of  which  is 
devoted  to  the  same  purpose.  The  late  Hon.  William  Sturg^s  of  Bos- 
ton presented  the  society  the  sum  of  twelve  hundred  dollars  to  cancel 
the  indebtedness  incurred  by  the  building  of  a  new  hall. 

The  officers  of  the  society  during  the  forty-seven  years  of  its 
existence  have  been  as  follows:  Presidents — John  Reed,  chosen  in  1848; 
Zenas  D.  Basset,  1848;  C.  B.  H.  Fessenden,  1861;  Charles  Marston, 
1852;  S.  B.  Phinney,  1866;  George  Marston,  1869;  Nathaniel  Hinckley, 
1864;  Nathan  Crocker,  1866;  Charles  C.  Bearse,  1869;  Levi  L.  Good- 
speed.  1871;  Charles  F.  Swift,  1873;  A.  T.  Perkins,  1876;  Azariah  El- 
dridge, 1878;  John  Simpkins,  1888  to  present  time.  Secretaries — 
Charles  H.  Bursley,  1843;  George  Marston,  1863;  S.  B.  Phinney,  1859; 
Frederick  Scudder,  1862;  George  A.  King,  1866;  Charles  F.  Swift, 
1867;  Charles  Thacher,  2d,  1871;  F.  B.  Goss,  1876;  F.  P.  Goss,  1879; 
Frederick  C.  Swift,  1882  to  present  time.  Treasurers — ^Joseph  A. 
Davis,  1843;  Ebenezer  Bacon,  1845;  Daniel  Bassett,  1863;  S.  P.  Holway, 
1868;  S.  B.  Phinney,  1860;  Walter  Chipman,  1861;  Frederick  Scudder, 
1867;  Walter  Chipman,  1868;  Freeman  H.  Lothrop,  1876;  Albert  F. 
Edson,  1882  to  present  time.  Delegates  to  State  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture—George Marston,  1859;  S.  B.  Phinney,  1862;  John  Kenrick.  1866; 
S.  B.  Phinney,  1870;  Augustus  T.  Perkins,  1879;  Nathan  Edson,  1882 
to  present  time. 

The  officers  for  1889-90  are:  President,  John  Simpkins;  vice-presi- 
dents, John  Kenrick  and  A.  D.  Makepeace;  secretary,  Frederick  C. 
Swift;  treasurer,  Albert  F.  Edson;  executive  committee,  John  Ken- 
rick, James  F.  Howes,  Nathan  Edson,  David  Fisk,  A.  D.  Makepeace, 
James  H.  Jenkins,  John  Bursley,  Ebenezer  B.  Crocker,  James  A.  El- 
dridge, Oliver  Hallet,  H.  B.  Winship,  Alexander  Walker,  Samuel  H. 
Nye;  auditing  committee.  Freeman  H.  Lothrop,  Samuel  Snow,  G.  A. 
Hinckley;  superintendent  of  hall  and  grounds,  Russell  Matthews. 

The  Cape  Cod  cranberry  men  have  an  organization,  including 
ninety-eight  members,  of  which  J.  J.  Russell  of  Plymouth  is  presi- 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND    INSTITUTIONS.  55 

dent.  All  the  other  officers  are  residents  of  this  county.  Emulous 
Small  of  Harwich,  and  Abel  D.  Makepeace  of  West  Barnstable,  are 
the  vice-presidents,  and  I.  T.Jones  is  the  secretary  and  treasurer.  The 
executive  committee  for  1890  consists  of  Calvin  Crowell,  Sagamore; 
A.  Phinney,  Falmouth;  G.  R.  Briggs,  Plymouth;  O.  M.  Holmes,  Mash- 
pee;  James  Webb,  Cotuit;  James  S.  Howes,  East  Dennis;  and  D.  B. 
Crocker,  Yarmouth.  The  second  annual  meeting  of  this  society  was 
held  last  year  at  Falmouth. 

Federal  Institutions. — Among  the  institutions  in  the  county 
belonging  to  and  erected  by  the  federal  government,  are  the  custom 
house  buildings,. lighthouses,  and  life  saving  stations.  The  collector, 
deputies,  keepers  and  crews  employed  in  the  various  duties  of  these 
necessary  institutions  are  residents  of  the  county,  and  our  history 
would  be  incomplete  without  their  mention. 

As  early  as  1749  a  collector  of  excise  was  chosen  for  Barnstable  by 
the  general  court,  and  that  harbor  was  then  made,  in  a  limited  sense, 
a  port  of  entry.  Joseph  Otis  was  appointed  naval  offiicer  for  this 
county  November  27,  1776,  and  was  succeeded  February  6,  1779,  by 
William  Taylor,  and  he  by  Samuel  Hinckley.  Thus  far  it  had  been 
an  affair  of  the  state;  but  in  1789,  while  Samuel  Hinckley  was  in  office, 
an  act  of  congress  made  Barnstable  the  seventh  of  the  twenty  districts 
or  ports  which  that  act  established  in  Massachusetts  for  the  collection 
of  duties.  General  Otis  succeeded  Mr.  Hinckley  by  President  Wash- 
ingfton's  appointment,  and  served  until  his  death.  His  son,  William 
Otis,  was  collector  from  March  22,  1809,  until  the  appointment  of 
Isaiah  L.  Green.  Mr.  Green  had  been  member  of  congress  three 
terms,  but  had  failed  of  re-election  because  of  his  vote  in  favor  of  the 
war  of  1812.  The  president,  as  his  friend,  appointed  him  collector 
February'  21,  1814,  an  office  which  he  held  until  succeeded  by  Henry 
Crocker,  April  1,  1837.  The  successive  appointments  have  been  as 
follows:  Ebenezer  Bacon,  March  23,  1841;  Josiah  Hinckley,  April  1, 
1845;  S.  B.  Phinney,  April  4,  1847;  Ebenezer  Bacon,  June  10,  1849;  S. 
B.  Phinney,  April  1,1853;  Joseph  M.  Day,  July  1,  1861;  Charles  F. 
Swift,  November  12,  1861;  S.  B.  Phinney,  November  11,  1866;  Walter 
Chipman,  special  deputy,  March  5,  1867;  Charles  F.  Swift,  March  17, 
1867;  Franklin  B.  Goss,  July  8,  1876;  Van  Buren  Chase,  August  8, 
1887:  and  Franklin  B.  Goss,  August  1,  1889. 

Prior  to  1855  each  collector  had  kept  the  office  at  his  own  place  of 
business,  and  that  year  the  present  custom  house  was  commenced  at 
Barnstable. 

The  federal  act  of  1789  provided  that  Sandwich.Wellfleet,  Chatham 
and  Provincetown  should  be  ports  of  delivery  in  the  Barnstable  dis- 
trict. In  1790  the  shores  and  waters  of  the  entire  county  were  formed 
into  what  has  since  been  known  as  the  Barnstable  district.     The  re- 


56  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

districting  of  the  coast  in  1799  enlarged  the  powers  of  the  collector  of 
this  port;  but  the  unlading  of  foreign  vessels  here  was  not  permitted 
until  the  year  1809.  That  year  delegates  from  the  towns  of  the  county 
assembled,  and  by  petitions  to  congress  new  privileges  were  obtained. 
Until  1817  the  collector  for  the  district  was  the  only  government 
officer  empowered  to  act;  but  the  act  of  March  third,  that  year,  gave 
collectors  authority  to  employ  deputy  collectors,  with  the  approval  of 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury.  These  deputies  have  since  been  vested 
with  full  powers  at  the  respective  ports  for  which  they  were  appointed. 
There  are  now  in  this  district  seven  ports  of  entry,  at  each  of  which  a 
deputy  is  appointed.  They  are:  Walter  O.  Luscombe,  Falmouth;  John 
J.  Collins,  Barnstable;  William  Crocker,  Hyannis;  Henry  H.  Fisk, 
Dennis;  Erastus  T.  Bearse,  Chatham;  Simeon  Atwood,  Wellfleet; 
Myrick  C.  Atwood  and  Robert  M.  Lavender,  Provincetown. 

No  equal  area  of  land  presents  to  the  navigator  a  more  dangerous 
coast,  nor  a  greater  perimeter,  than  this  county;  and  probably  no 
coast  presents  to  the  sea-faring  man  more  changes  from  drifting 
sands.  Surveys  and  soundings  must  be  continually  made,  and  charts 
and  directions  are  printed  yearly  for  the  safe  navigation  of  the  waters 
around  the  Cape.  Lightships — off  Chatham  and  along  the  sound — are 
manned  and  sustained  by  the  government;  and  lighthouses  and  bea- 
cons of  various  kinds  have  been  erected  on  the  coa.sts.  As  early  as 
1797  the  town  of  Truro  sold  to  the  United  States  ten  acres  of  land 
upon  which  to  erect  the  first  lighthouse  of  the  Cape.  The  lighthouse 
stations  of  this  county,  now  numbering  seventeen,  form  a  portion  of 
the  Second  Lighthouse  district,  and  are  situated  as  follows: 

Wing's  Neck  light,  near  the  head  of  Buzzard's  bay,  east  side  of  the 
entrance  to  Pocasset  harbor,  has  been  a  government  station  for  some 
time.  A  lantern  giving  a  white  light,  visible  twelve  miles,  has  been 
displayed  from  the  top  of  a  white  house  with  a  red  roof.  A  light- 
house of  the  usual  form  is  now  being  erected  near  by. 

Nobsque  light  is  situated  on  the  knoll  east  of  Little  harbor,  Woods 
HoU.  The  tower  is  thirty-five  feet  high  and  contains  a  fixed  white 
light,  with  a  red  sector,  and  is  visible  thirteen  miles.  This  station 
has  a  fog  signal — a  bell  struck  by  machinery.  The  signal  is  two  strokes 
of  the  bell  in  quick  succession,  followed  by  an  interval  of  thirty  sec- 
onds. 

Bishop  &  Clerk's  light  is  on  a  ledge  of  the  same  name  off  Gammon 
point,  where  still  remains  the  tower  of  a  former  station.  The  tower 
of  the  present  lighthouse  is  forty-seven  feet  high,  has  a  flashing  white 
light  with  intervals  of  thirty  seconds,  and  is  visible  for  thirteen  miles. 
It  also  contains  a  red  sector,  and  a  fog  bell  which  is  rung  by  ma- 
chinery. 

Hyannis  light  has  a  tower  twenty-one  feet  high,  and  is  situated  on 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND   INSTITUTIONS.  57 

the  main  land  at  the  head  of  the  harbor.     The  light  is  a  fixed  red, 
visible  nearly  twelve  miles. 

Hyannis  Beacon  light  is  a  framed  building,  containing  a  red  light 
visible  nine  miles.  This  is  used  in  connection  with  surrounding  lights 
in  giving  courses  for  safe  navigation. 

Bass  River  light  is  just  east  of  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  that  name, 
and  is  situated  in  West  Dennis.  It  is  a  fixed  white  light  in  the  tower 
of  the  keeper's  residence,  and  is  visible  Hi  miles. 

Stage  Harbor  light  is  situated  on  Harding's  beach,  at  the  entrance 
of  Stage  harbor,  Chatham.  The  tower  is  thirty-five  feet  high  and  has 
a  fixed  white  light  that  can  be  seen  twelve  miles  at  sea. 

Monomoy  Point  light,  on  the  south  end  of  the  beach  of  the  same 
name,  is  a  fixed  white  light  in  a  tower  thirty  feet  high,  and  is  visible 
twelve  miles. 

Chatham  light  station  is  on  the  main  land,  in  Chatham  village.  It 
consists  of  two  round  towers,  each  forty-three  feet  high,  placed  north 
and  south,  one  hundred  feet  apart.  In  each  is  a  fixed  white  light, 
visible  14^  miles. 

Nauset  Beach  light  is  in  Eastham,  on  the  ocean  coast,  and  has  three 
towers,  each  eighteen  feet  high,  ranging  north  and  south,  with  a  dis- 
tance of  150  feet  between.  Each  tower  contains  a  fixed  white  light, 
visible  fifteen  miles  out  on  the  sea.  Abreast  this  light  the  tides  divide 
and  run  in  opposite  directions. 

.  Cape  Cod  light  station — the  Highland  light — is  on  the  east  shore  of 
Truro,  on  a  blue  clay  bank,  142  feet  above  the  sea.  The  tower  still 
rises  fifty-three  feet  higher,  from  which  a  fixed  white  light  sheds  its 
rays  twenty  miles  out  to  sea.  A  Daboll  trumpet  is  used  for  a  fog  sig- 
nal, which  is  a  blast  of  eight  seconds,  with  an  interval  of  a  half  minute. 
Vessels  passing  this  light  can  communicate  with  Boston  if  the  Inter- 
national Code  signals  are  in  use  on  board. 

Race  Point  light,  situated  on  the  northeast  point  of  Provincetown, 
has  a  tower  thirty  feet  high,  with  a  white  light  varied  by  flashes  every 
ninety  seconds,  which  can  be  seen  by  mariners  12^^  miles  at  sea.  It 
also  contains  a  steam  whistle  for  fog  signals. 

Wood  End  light,  on  Wood  End,  near  the  entrance  of  Provincetown 
harbor,  is  a  tower  thirty-four  feet  high,  using  a  red,  flashing  light  in 
intervals  of  fifteen  seconds.     It  is  visible  twelve  miles. 

Long  Point  light  is  on  the  eastern  point  of  the  peninsula  that  en- 
circles the  west  side  of  Provincetown  harbor,  the  square  tower  thirty- 
four  feet  high  being  erected  on  the  extreme  point,  southwest  of  the 
entrance  to  the  harbor.  A  fixed  white  light  is  used,  which  is  visible 
nearly  twelve  miles.  A  bell,  run  by  machinery,  gives  the  fog  signal, 
which  is  two  quick,  successive  strokes,  then  one  after  half  a  minute, 
followed  by  a  longer  interval. 


58  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Mayo's  Beach  light  is  a  round  tower,  twenty-five  feet  high,  situated 
at  the  head  of  Wellfleet  bay.  It  has  a  fixed  white  light,  visible  over 
eleven  miles. 

Billingsgate  light  station  is  on  the  island  of  that  name,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  entrance  to  Wellfleet  bay.  The  tower  is  thirty-four  feet 
high,  containing  a  fixed  white  light,  visible  twelve  miles. 

Sandy  Neck  light,  on  the  neck  at  the  entrance  of  Barnstable  har- 
bor, has  a  tower  forty-four  feet  high,  which  contains  a  fixed  white 
light,  visible  to  the  mariner  twelve  miles  out  in  the  bay. 

These  stations  are  under  the  supervision  of  the  Lighthouse  Board 
at  Boston:  but  the  keepers  are  generally  residents  of  the  Cape. 

Not  until  1848  was  the  beneficent  plan  of  establishing  life  saving 
stations  seriously  contemplated  by  the  federal  government.  That 
year,  in  August,  Hon.  William  A.  Newell,  a  member  of  the  house  of 
representatives,  portrayed  in  a  speech  the  terrible  dangers  to  naviga- 
tion as  presented  by  the  coasts,  and  strongly  urged  the  action  of  con- 
gress to  render  assistance  to  vessels  cast  ashore.  During  the  same 
session  a  small  sum  was  appropriated  for  surf  boats  and  other  appara- 
tus for  the  New  Jersey  coast,  which  was  to  be  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Revenue  Marine.  More  was  appropriated  at  the  next  session, 
and  Captain  Douglass  Ottinger  is  said  to  have  invented  a  life  car  for 
the  transportation  of  persons  from  a  wreck  through  the  surf  to  the 
shore.  In  1854  stations  were  erected  along  the  ocean  coast  of  Long 
Island,  and  more  public  interest  was  manifested  in  securing  well 
equipped  stations. 

The  occurrence  of  several  very  fatal  disasters  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  during  the  winter  of  1870-71  revealed  the  fact  that  the  service 
was  not  only  ineflBcient  for  want  of  more  complete  organization,  but 
must  be  extended  to  other  portions  of  the  coast.  By  the  act  of  March 
3,  1871,  better  facilities  for  saving  life  and  property  were  furnished 
to  the  first  organized  stations — two  new  stations  were  erected  on  the 
coast  of  Rhode  Island.  By  the  act  of  June  10,  1872,  the  system  was 
extended  to  Cape  Cod,  and  money  was  appropriated  for  the  erection 
of  nine  stations  along  its  ocean  shore.  They  were  completed  and  fur- 
nished with  apparatus  the  following  winter.  The  number  of  stations 
on  the  Cape  provided  for  by  the  act  of  1872  was  subsequently  increased 
to  ten,  and  they  are  named  and  located  as  follows:  Race  Point,  two- 
thirds  of  a  mile  northeast  of  Race  Point  light;  Peaked  Hill  Bars,  2i 
miles  northeast  of  Provincetown;  High  Head.  3i  miles  northwest  of 
the  Highland  light;  Highland,  nearly  one  mile  northwest  of  the 
Highland  light;  Pamet  River  station,  3^  miles  sotith  of  the  High- 
land light,  in  Truro;  Cahoon's  Hollow,  in  Wellfleet,  south  of  the 
last;  Nauset,  If  miles  south  of  Nauset  light;  Orleans  station,  at  East 


y^'V^  ^^/^^<i'^'(py 


ycJ^'myO-^-rri^ 


t'^l^C^l^' 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND   INSTITUTIONS.  59" 

Orleans;   Chatham,  near  the  Chatham  light;   and  Monomoy  station, 
2i  miles  north  of  the  Monomoy  light. 

We  have  dated  the  life  saving  service  from  1848;  but  the  exten- 
sion and  reorganization  of  the  service  in  1871,  1872,  marks  the  be- 
ginning of  the  efficiency  for  which  this  branch  of  the  public  ser- 
vice is  justly  distinguished.  After  congress  had  appropriated  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  in  April,  1871,  the  treasury  department  de- 
tailed Captain  John  Faunce,  of  the  Revenue  Marine,  to  visit  the  sta- 
tions already  established,  and  ascertain  their  condition  and  needs.. 
His  report  showed  the  practical  waste  of  the  government  money  and 
the  utter  uselessness  of  most  of  the  stations.  No  discipline  among 
the  men,  no  care  for  the  preservation  of  apparatus,  and  no  super- 
vision of  the  stations,  were  evils  which  he  pointed  out.  Several  seri- 
ous disasters  served  to  call  further  attention  to  the  service,  and  re- 
sulted in  the  inauguration  of  the  present  system  of  districts  with, 
superintendents.  Of  the  twelve  districts  in  the  United  States,  the 
Second  includes  the  entire  coast  of  Massachusetts,  of  which  Benjamin 
C.  Span-ow,  of  East  Orleans,  is  superintendent.  His  selection  and 
appointment  in  November,  1872,  was  a  part  of  the  plan  to  prevent 
the  evils  above  mentioned,  while  extending  the  service  under  liberal 
appropriations.  He  had  been  in  the  United  States  regular  army  from 
1861  until  November,  1864,  in  the  engineer  battalion,  attached  to  the 
headquarters  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  and  was  a  prisoner  at 
Belle  Isle  in  the  summer  of  1862.  He  had  taught  public  schools  in 
Eastham,  and  from  1861  had  been  successfully  engaged  in  wreckings 
When  the  war  broke  out  he  was  at  Phillips  Academy  preparing 
himself  for  the  legal  profession.  Since  his  birth,  October  9,  1839, 
he  had,  like  his  ancestors,  resided  at  Orleans,  where  they  had  been 
fully  familiar  with  the  scenes  of  shipwreck  and  disaster. 

The  success  of  Superintendent  Sparrow  in  securing  discipline  and 
eflBciency  in  this  hazardous  service,  and  his  popularity  among  the 
captains  and  crews  of  the  stations  under  his  official  care,  have  retained 
him  to  the  present  time.  He  is  a  worthy  descendant  of  that  Richard 
Sparrow  who  came  over  in  the  ship  Ann  and  landed  at  Plymouth,  and 
from  whom  those  of  the  name  on  the  Cape  have  sprung.  Richard' 
came  to  Eastham  in  1650,  bringing  his  only  child,  Jonathan',  whose 
last  resting  place  is  now  marked  by  a  stone  in  the  first  burial  ground 
of  that  town.  His  son  by  a  second  marriage  with  Hannah,  daughter 
of  Governor  Prince,  was  Richard',  born  March  17,  1-669.  He  married 
Mercy  Young  (or  Cobb),  and  died  in  Eastham  in  1727,  leaving  seven 
daughters  and  a  son,  Richard*.  This  only  son  married  Hannah  Shaw 
in  1724,  and  died  in  1774.  Of  their  children  three  only  grew  to  man- 
hood and  womanhood — Isaac  and  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  mar- 
ried Daniel  Hamilton,  whose  son  Paul  was  the  first  Methodist  preacher 


60  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

heard  in  Orleans.  Isaac*  was  bom  in  1725,  and  married  Rebecca 
,  Knowles  in  1747,  to  whom  eight  children  were  born — five  daughters 
and  three  sons,  of  whom  Josiah'  was  the  youngest.  He  married 
Mercy  Smith,  of  Chatham,  January  11,  1782.  Their  nine  children 
were:  Lydia,  born  October  19,  1782;  Josiah,  jr.,  born  March  13,  1785; 
Mercy,  born  May  28,  1788;  Zerviah,  born  March  15, 1790;  Samuel,  born 
November  8,  1792;  Harvey,  born  November  14,  1795;  Sarah,  born 
March  21,  1798;  James  L.,  bom  June  2,  1801;  and  Hannah  Shaw  Spar- 
row, the  youngest  of  the  nine,  born  January  1,  1806. 

James  L.  Sparrow,  father  of  the  superintendent,  married  Sukey 
Crosby,  of  Orleans,  December  16,  1824.  Their  four  daughters  were: 
Julia  M.,  who '  died  young;  Anna  E.  (Mrs.  Freeman  H.  Snow),  Susan 
M.  (Mrs.  Joseph  K.  May)  and  Sarah  E.,  who  died  at  eighteen.  James 
H.,  their  oldest  son,  was  a  well  known  citizen  of  Cambridgeport,  Mass., 
until  his  death  there  in  1880;  William  F.  enlisted  in  the  civil  war  and 
was  killed  at  Goldsboro,  N.  C,  in  December,  1862.  Benjamin  C,  the 
sixth  child  and  youngest  son,  is  the  Superintendent  Sparrow  of  this 
sketch.  He  is  a  member  of  Frank  D.  Hammond  Post,  No.  141,  G.  A. 
R.,  and  has  found  time  to  serve  his  town  on  the  school  board  more  or 
less  for  the  past  twenty-three  years.  His  ability  in  the  life  saving  ser- 
vice was  early  recognized  by  his  appointment  on  the  board  of  experts 
to  examine  new  appliances  and  methods  proposed  for  use  by  the  de- 
partment.   This  position  he  has  held  until  the  present  time. 

He  was  married  to  Eunice  S.,  daughter  of  Moses  O.  Felton,  Decem- 
ber 25,  1866,  and  they  have  two  children  living — Susan  F.  and  Joseph- 
ine M.  Mrs.  Sparrow  was  a  resident  of  Shutesbury,  Mass.,  and  was  a 
teacher  here  in  1864-1866.  They  reside  upon  the  home  farm  in  East 
Orleans. 

The  life  saving  stations  on  the  Cape  are  generally  oflBcered  and 
manned  by  men  residing  in  the  towns  where  the  stations  are  located. 
Provisions  have  been  made  by  the  government  for  some  compensation 
in  cases  of  death  or  disability  while  in  this  service;  and  still  greater 
liberality  would  be  no  more  than  a  just  recognition  of  the  perils  en- 
countered by  the  courageous  men.  Year  by  year  improvements  have 
been  made  in  the  buildings  and  apparatus.  The  selection  of  men  by 
ascertainment  of  health,  habits,  age  and  professional  acquirement  has 
been  enforced;  thorough  inspection  of  stations  and  exercise  of  the 
keepers  and  men  in  the  use  of  the  apparatus  and  maneuvers  of  an  es- 
tablished drill  have  been  regularly  instituted,  and  a  patrol  system 
practiced.  The  men  are  instructed  in  the  most  approved  methods  of 
restoring  the  apparently  drowned  persons  with  whom  they  of  ten  come 
in  contact  in  their  line  of  duty.  A  code  of  signals  for  day  and  night 
has  been  devised,  to  enable  patrolmen  to  communicate  with  stations, 
whereby  preparations  for  hasty  assistance  can  be  made:     In  fact  the 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND   INSTITUTIONS. 


61 


appropriations  by  congress  have  been  annually  sufficient  to  render 
this  humane  service  efficient,  rescuing  hundreds  of  lives  and  saving 
large  amounts  of  property,  as  the  following  table  fully  demonstrates. 
The  Second  district  comprises  the  stations  of  the  Massachusetts  coast, 
ten  of  which  are  on  the  Cape.  The  accompanying  table  contains  the 
statistics  of  the  entire  district.  Of  the  number  of  vessels  reported  in 
distress,  those  assisted  by  the  Cape  -stations  are  fully  proportionate  in 
the  comparison  of  its  number  of  stations  with  those  of  the  district. 


Sao 

r 

CD 

•SO 

stimated 
Value 
Vessels. 

stimated 
Value 
f  Cargo. 

stimated 

Value 

Property 
Saved. 

IS  . 

l-a 

H  "S 

W   o 

W  -g 

o 

1873 

9 

$72,900 

$211,180 

$228,006 

74 

74 

1874 

18 

176,450 

164,764 

253,294 

146 

146 

1875 

14 

345,000 

135,450 

220,450 

112 

97 

1876 

23 

245,000 

111,127 

212,900 

211 

210 

1877 

21 

234,300 

129,506 

160,050 

158 

157 

1878 

20 

77,056 

16,983 

24,904 

121 

102 

1879 

26 

90,290 

66,700 

112,575 

128 

124 

1880 

22 

229,795 

110,865 

260,185 

144 

144 

1881 

23 

95,270 

42,202 

96,325 

122 

122 

1882 

81 

189,030 

80,850 

207,205 

162 

162 

1883 

26 

266,805 

51,405 

283,255 

168 

168 

1884 

40 

285,935 

57,460 

265,015 

239 

239 

1885 

41 

217,230 

139,600 

265,480 

242 

242 

1886 

54 

373,470 

204,305 

283,285 

898 

398 

1887 

40 

696,250 

217,420 

854,010 

136 

138 

1888 

80 

648,695 

864,490 

1,146,190 

895 

895 

1889 

55 

874,655 

;03,823 

857,601 

403 

394 

CHAPTER  VI. 


MILITARY   HISTORY. 


"New  England  Confederation. — Rrst  Indian  Troubles. — King  Philip's  War. — French  and 
Indian  Wars.— The  Revolution.— Shay's  Rebellion.— War  of  1812. 


IN  1642  the  attitude  of  the  Indians,  on  the  main  land,  created  sus- 
picions of  hostility.  The  severe  laws  of  the  colony  had  been 
rigidly  enforced  and  the  free  instinct  of  the  natives  had  been  so 
bridled  as  to  cause  a  feeling  of  unrest.  Their  unfriendliness  was  too 
apparent.  The  Plymouth  colony  resolved  to  raise  thirty  men  for  an 
expedition  against  them.  Firearms  had  prudentially  been  withheld 
from  them  by  order  of  the  colony,  and  a  force  of  this  number  was 
thought  to  be  formidable.  The  court  was  hastily  called  together, 
September  7,  Edward  Dillingham  and  Richard  Chadwell  of  Sand- 
wich, Anthony  Anable  and  John  Cooper  of  Barnstable,  and  William 
Palmer  of  Yarmouth  being  present.  A  company  was  formed  with 
Miles  Standish,  captain;  William  Palmer,  lieutenant;  and  Peregrine 
White,  ensign.  Edmund  Freeman,  Anthony  Thacher  and  Thomas 
Dimoc  were  appointed  members  of  the  council  of  war. 

A  confederation  of  a  portion  of  the  infant  colonies  of  New  Eng- 
land was  formed  in  1643  for  the  promotion  of  union,  offensive  and 
-defensive,  in  any  difficulties  with  the  Indians.      This   measure  had 
been  contemplated  for  several  years  by  those  colonies,  and  this  con- 
federation,  The   United    Colonies   of    New    England,  existed    until 
1686,  when  affairs  were  materially  changed  by  the  commission  from 
King  James  II.      This   first  spirit  of   confederation,  which   became 
later  the   basis  of   our   national   existence,  having   been    perfected, 
•orders  were  issued   for   every  town  within  the   jurisdiction  of  the 
court  to  provide  ammunition   and  arms,  and   be   ready  for  prompt 
action.     Of  the  thirty  men  mentioned,  eight  were  from  the  Cape — 
Sandwich  and  Barnstable  furnishing  three  each,  and  Yarmouth  two. 
These   men    were   each  to  be   provided   with  a  musket,   firelock    or 
matchlock,  a  pair  of  bandoliers  or  pouches  for  powder  and  bullets,  a 
.sword  and  belt,  a  worm  and  scourer,  a  rest  and  a  knapsack.     Each 
private  soldier  was  to  have  eighteen  shillings    per  month  when  in 
•  service.     From  this  date  was  the  establishment  in  the  towns  of  mili- 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  63 

tary  companies,  the  training  field,  and  other  warlike  measures.  Barn- 
stable, Sandwich  and  Yarmouth — then  the  only  incorporated  towns 
on  the  Cape — at  once  formed  military  companies,  and  the  two  latter 
towns  provided  places  of  safety  for  the  women  and  children.  The 
exercises  of  training  were  always  begun  with  prayer,  and  none  could 
belong  to  the  company  who  were  not  freemen  and  of  "  good  report." 

The  colony,  with  every  town  on  the  alert,  awaited  the  development 
of  a  struggle  which  arose  in  1643  between  Uncas  and  the  Pequots, 
who,  with  the  Narragansetts,  had  agreed  in  1637  not  to  make  war 
upon  each  other  without  first  an  appeal  to  the  English.  Uncas  con- 
ceived that  an  attempt  had  been  made  upon  his  life  by  a  Pequot, 
which  resulted  in  a  war  between  Uncas  and  Miantonomi;  and  the 
latter  sachem,  although  he  could  bring  one  thousand  warriors  to  the 
field,  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner  by  Uncas.  The  prisoner  was 
put  to  death  by  the  advice  of  the  commissioners,  at  their  meeting  in 
Boston,  in  September  of  that  year.  The  exasperation  of  the  Narra- 
gansetts was  beyond  control;  they  charged  the  English  with  a  want 
of  good  faith,  and  preparations  were  macje  for  hostile  movements. 
The  Narragansetts  resolved  to  secure  the  head  of  Uncas,  and  the 
English  resolved  to  defend  him. 

In  addition  to  what  had  already  been  done,  more  men  were  raised. 
This  conflict  would  draw  from  the  towns  of  the  Cape  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  its  people,  as  they  were  included  in  the  confederation. 
Massachusetts  at  once  raised  one  hundred  and  ninety  men,  Plymouth 
colony  40,  Connecticut  40,  and  New  Haven  30.  The  Plymouth  quota, 
under  Captain  Miles  Standish,  went  as  far  as  Rehoboth;  but  while 
the  English  were  advancing,  the  Narragansett  sachems  were  iti  Bos- 
ton, suing  for  peace,  which  was  granted,  with  the  requirement  of 
heavy  penalties  and  burdens.  Thus  closed  the  first  Indian  troubles 
of  the  colony. 

The  December  court  of  1652  directed  the  several  towns  to  send 
deputies,  April  1,  1653,  "  to  treat  and  conclude  on  such  military  affairs 
as  may  tend  to  our  present  and  future  safety."  Variances  had  arisen 
between  England  and  Holland,  and  the  lowering  clouds  of  war,  with 
Indian  cruelties,  hung  over  the  colony.  Sandwich  sent  James  Skiff  ; 
Yarmouth,  Sergeant  Rider  and  John  Gorham;  Barnstable,  Lieutenant 
Fuller  and  Sergeant  Thomas  Hinckley;  and  Eastham,  which  town  had 
now  been  incorporated,  John  Doane  and  Richard  Sparrow.  Sixty 
men  were  ordered  to  be  raised  in  this  colony.  Of  these  Sandwich, 
Yarmouth  and  Barnstable  were  to  furnish  six  each,  and  Eastham 
three.  Provisions  were  made  for  raising  money  for  the  further  enlist- 
ment of  soldiers  and  procuring  arms,  and  a  certain  number  were  to  take 
their  arms  to  meeting  on  the  Sabbath.  In  1664  a  deputation  of  "  horse 
and  foot"  was  sent  with  a  message  to  the  Niantick  sachem,  and,  to 


64  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

make  up  a  safe  and  formidable  body  as  a  guard,  Sandwicli,  Eastham 
and  Yarmouth  furnished  four  men  each,  and  Barnstable  five,  as  their 
quota.  As  yet  no  outbreak  had  occurred,  but  the  threatening  appear- 
ances occasioned  by  jealousies  necessitated  continued  readiness  on  the 
part  of  the  colonies.  In  1655  troops  of  horse  were  required  by  the 
court,  and  the  proportion  of  the  four  towns  of  the  Cape  was  three 
each.  In  1658  a  military  system  was  perfected,  by  which  a  small 
standing  army  and  the  militia  of  the  towns  comprised  the  colonial 
force. 

A  council  of  war  was  called  at  Plymouth  in  1667,  the  confederation 
apprehending  danger  from  the  Dutch  and  French — their  common 
enemies — and  the  Plymouth  colony  suspected  the  Indians,  under 
King  Philip,  whose  "  frequent  assembling  and  various  movements 
indicated  war."  A  commission  of  armed  men  met  Philip  at  Taunton 
soon  after,  who  agreed  to  leave  his  arms  with  the  English,  as  a  security 
that  no  war  was  in  his  heart.  But  this  did  not  allay  the  suspicions  nor 
watchfulness  of  the  colonies.  The  Indians  of  the  Cape  in  1671,  and 
again  in  1674,  pledged  themselves,  by  their  sachems,  to  fidelity.  More 
men  were  pressed  into  the  service,  of  whom  Barnstable  and  Sandwich 
furnished  ten,  Yarmouth  nine',  and  Eastbam  five.  But  the  same  year 
Philip  entered  into  a  treaty  of  peace,  which  for  several  years  allowed 
the  colonies  comparative  quiet,  and  the  men  of  the  Cape  towns  to 
return  home  to  be  in  readiness  when  called. 

In  1674  two  Indians,  one  of  whom  was  Philip's  counselor,  were 
arrested  for  the  supposed  murder  of  another  Indian  found  dead  in 
Middleboro  pond.  They  were  tried  and  executed  by  order  of  the 
court.  Philip  regarded  the  execution  as  an  outrage.  Hostilities  com- 
menced. An  army  was  soon  in  the  field — 158  men  from  Plymouth 
colony;  627  from  the  Massachusetts;  and  315  from  Connecticut.  The 
towns  of  Sandwich  and  Barnstable  furnished  sixteen  each,  Yarmouth 
fifteen,  and  Eastham  eight.  Again,  in  December  of  the  same  year, 
nearly  as  many  men  were  required  of  these  towns.  Skirmishes  suc- 
ceeded, then  a  general  war,  which  was  disastrous  to  all  concerned.  The 
Cape  was  only  affected  by  the  greatly  increased  expenses  and  the  loss 
of  men.  The  Indians  of  the  Cape  remained  neutral,  and  were  considered 
a  defense  to  Sandwich  and  the  towns  below.  In  1676  one  reverse  at 
Rehoboth,  early  in  the  war,  cost  the  Cape  twenty  men— Barnstable  six, 
Yarmouth  and  Sandwich  five  each,  and  Eastham  four.  The  almost 
entire  command  of  Captain  Pierce  of  Scituate — fifty  men  and  twenty 
Indians — was  massacred,  including  the  captain  himself.  The  names 
of  the  Barnstable  men  lost  were:  Samuel  Child,  Lieutenant  Fuller, 
John  Lewis,  Eleazur  Cobb,  Samuel  Linnet  and  Samuel  Boreman  or 
Bowman.  'We  are  unable  to  find  the  list  from  the  other  towns.  The 
Indians  lost  were  Cape  Indians,  and  only  one  was  permitted  to  return. 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  65 

The  Indian  Amos,  who  escaped,  was  of  the  Barnstable  quota,  and  not 
only  fought  bravely  to  the  last,  but  practiced  the  usual  strategy  to 
escape.  He  saw  that  the  hostile  tribe  had  blackened  their  faces  to 
distinguish  themselves  from  the  friendly  Indians,  and  as  a  dernier 
ressort  he  wet  some  powder,  blackened  his  own  face  and  passed  through 
safely. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year,  seven  hundred  Indian  warriors  had 
fallen,  among  them  twenty-five  sachems;  and  many  deaths  followed 
from  wounds.  Many  women  and  children  were  slain  in  the  burning 
of  six  hundred  wigwams.  Of  the  colonists,  six  captains  and  eighty 
privates  were  slain  and  many  wounded.  In  1676  a  new  levy  of  men 
from  the  towns  was  required.  The  quota  from  the  Cape  towns  was: 
Barnstable,  thirty;  Sandwich,  twenty-eight;  Yarmouth,  twenty-six:  and 
Eastham,  eighteen.  All  boys  under  sixteen  years  were  required  to  join 
the  town  guard.  Three  months  later  Barnstable  was  required  to  furn  ish 
sixteen  pounds  and  fifteen  men;  Sandwich  the  same;  Yarmouth  four- 
teen pounds  and  thirteen  men;  and  Eastham  ten  pounds  five  shillings 
and  ten  men.  In  July  of  the  same  year  other  heavy  war  rates  were 
levied  on  the  towns. 

August  12,  1676,  King  Philip,  the  deadly  foe  of  the  Plymouth  col- 
ony, fell;  his  head  was  brought  to  Plymouth,  which  occasioned  a  gen- 
eral thanksgiving.  From  his  death  the  extinction  of  his  tribe  may  be 
dated.  The  termination  of  this  terrible  war  was  of  great  importance 
to  the  exhausted  colonies,  as  during  its  active  prosecution  six  hundred 
of  the  best  men  had  been  lost  and  thirteen  of  the  towns  of  the  settlers 
had  been  destroyed.  The  debts  of  the  war  fell  heavily  upon  the  early 
towns  of  the  Cape,  and  many  years  elapsed  before  they  were  liquid- 
ated. 

The  policy  of  the  colony  toward  the  defeated  Indians  was  so  severe 
that  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  Sandwich  and  Barnstable  grew  rest- 
less, and  prudence  was  required  to  restrain  them,  and  especially  to 
hold  them  friendly  to  the  English.  The  residence  of  Mr.  Hinckley, 
while  be  was  abroad  on  public  duties,  was  guarded,  and  at  Sandwich 
a  guard  was  kept  as  a  matter  of  safety  and  to  prevent  any  communi- 
cation between  the  friendly  and  hostile  tribes.  This  condition  of 
affairs  gradually  disappeared;  the  Indians  of  the  Cape  continued 
friendly  in  their  relations;  and  although  the  four  primitive  towns  of 
this  territory  of  which  we  write  had  suffered  greatly  in  many  ways, 
the  same  people,  with  those  of  other  towns,  had  many  privations  yet 
in  store. 

French  and  Indian  Wars. — In  1690  other  troubles  than  those  en- 
gendered by  the  former  usurpations  of  Andros  were  developing  to 
agitate  the  inhabitants  of  Barnstable  as  well  as  other  counties.  The 
war  with  the  French  and  their  Indian  allies  was  inevitable,  and  the 
6 


66  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Plymoutti  colony  must  bear  its  proportion.  It  was  ordered  that  men 
be  raised  to  go  to  New  York  and  other  places  against  the  enemy;  of 
these  Barnstable  county  was  to  send  nineteen- — Barnstable  five;  Sand- 
wich, Yarmouth  and  Eastham  four  each;  and  Monomoyick  and  Suc- 
conessit  one  each.  (As  the  two  latter  towns  were  soon  after  known 
as  Chatham  and  Falmouth,  these  names  will  be  used.)  But  soon  after 
the  county  was  pressed  to  furnish  forty-six  m:re  men — Barnstable 
twelve;  Sandwich,  Yarmouth  and  Eastham  ten  each;  and  Chatham 
and  Falmouth  each  two;  also,  the  county  was  compelled  to  furnish 
twenty-two  Indians.  The  same  year  the  county  was  taxed  £452, 4s.,  9d. 
for  the  expenses  of  the  war,  and  this  additional  burden  was  distrib- 
uted among  the  towns,  Barnstable  paying  the  largest  sum  and  Fal- 
mouth the  least.  The  full  account  of  this  campaign  may  be  found  in 
Hutchinson's  History  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

The  treaty  of  Ryswick  in  1697  temporarily  closed  the  seven 
years  of  war,  and  permitted  the  inhabitants  of  the  Cape  towns  to 
resume  for  a  short  period  their  wonted  avocations. 

In  1702,  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  difficulties  again  arose 
between  England  and  the  French  and  their  Indian  allies.  For 
years  this  war  continued,  with  all  its  horrors  of  Indian  inhuman- 
ities instigated  by  the  French;  and  frequent  requirements  were 
made  upon  the  Cape  towns  for  men  and  money;  until,  in  1713,  the 
peace  negotiations  at  Utrecht  again  quieted  the  disturbing  elements. 
It  was  then  estimated  that  for  some  years  not  less  than  one-fifth 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  had  been  engaged  in  actual  ser- 
vice, while  those  at  home  had  been  subjected  to  constant  fears  and 
alarms,  as  well  as  the  most  onerous  pecuniary  burdens. 

In  1691,  for  the  relief  of  the  towns  from  the  burdens  of  war, 
and  in  the  scarcity  of  currency,  the  court  issued  bills  of  credit  and 
made  them  current  for  the  payment  of  all  public  and  private 
debts.  In  1711,  to  still  further  relieve  the  people,  a  series  of  forty 
thousand  pounds  was  issued.  These  sinews  of  war  perhaps  tem- 
porarily gave  relief;  but  their  depreciation  in  after  years  fell  heavily 
upon  the  soldiers  who  had  received  them  for  pay.  In  1721  and 
1727  the  general  court  issued  more  of  these  bills  to  be  loaned  to 
the  towns,  and  which  were  sent  to  them  in  proportionate  amounts. 
These  bills,  when  first  issued,  had  been  redeemed  by  the  general 
court  until  1704,  when  their  redemption  was  indefinitely  postponed. 
Their  value  slid  down  the  scale  of  depreciation  according  to  the 
denomination  of  "  old  tenor,"  "  middle  tenor  "  and  "  new  tenor,"  which 
terms  were  applicable  to  the  age  or  issue  of  the  bills.  In  1749  Eng- 
land sent  to  Boston  215  chests,  each  containing  three  thousand  dol- 
lars in  silver,  also  one  hundred  casks  of  copper — seventeen  cart- 
loads of  the  silver  and    ten    of   the    copper — to  redeem  these  bills. 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  67 

The  bills  were  paid  at  the  treasury  at  the  rate  of  forty-five 
shillings  in  bills  of  the  old  tenor,  or  lis.  3d.  in  new  tenor,  for.  one 
Spanish  dollar. 

In  1744  another  war  between  Great  Britain  and  France  was 
commenced,  and  the  Indians,  through  French  influence  and  the 
bounties  for  scalps,  attacked  some  New  England  towns.  Many  per- 
sons from  the  Cape  were  pressed  into  the  service,  many  were  taken 
prisoners  and  many  killed  during  a  bloody  war  of  nineteen  years. 
In  1745  the  march  against  Cape  Breton  and  the  taking  of  Louisburg — 
the  Gibraltar  of  America — were  events  of  great  moment  in  the  history 
of  those  days.  Colonel  Graham's  regiment  did  valiant  service  there. 
The  captains  were  Jonathan  Carey,  Edward  Dimmick,  Elisha  Doane, 
Sylvanus  Cobb,  Israel  Bailey,  Gershom  Bradford  and  Samuel  Lom- 
bard. Wolcott's  regiment  of  Connecticut  forces  had  Captain  Daniel 
Chapman  and  Lieutenant  Lothrop  from  the  Cape.  The  French  had 
fortified  Louisburg  at  a  vast  expense,  and  supposed  it  impregnable  to 
the  assaults  of  any  force.  The  ire  of  the  French  nation  was  so  aroused 
that  in  1746  the  largest  armament  that  had  yet  been  sent  was  de- 
spatched to  the  New  World  under  Duke  d'Auville  to  recover  Louisburg 
and  aid  the  Canadians  and  Indians  in  devastating  and  distressing  the 
New  England  colony.  This  armament  of  eleven  ships  of  the  line  and 
thirty  smaller  vessels  of  war,  besides  transports  bearing  three  thou- 
sand regulars,  was  reduced  more  than  one-half  by  storms  and  losses, 
while  sickness  carried  off  many  more  after  the  arrival,  and  the  remain- 
ing vessels  one  by  one  returned  to  France.  The  impressments  by 
the  mother  country  for  men  from  the  towns  were  excessive  during 
these  stirring  events,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  historical  significance  that 
in  1749  Truro  and  other  towns  petitioned  against  the  injustice,  and 
many  towns  denounced  it  an  outrage.  The  feeling  engendered  on 
the  Cape  by  the  unjust  drain  of  its  means  and  best  men  had  not  been 
entirely  forgotten  a  score  of  years  later  when,  just  prior  to  the  revo 
lution,  the  placing  of  other  burdens  was  attempted. 

The  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  1749  was  hailed  with  joy  by  every 
town,  but  in  1753  Great  Britain  charged  France  with  a  violation  of 
the  treaty,  and  the  preparations,  for  war  were  again  made.  In  1755 
troops  arrived  from  England,  the  colonies  again  raised  their  propor- 
tion, and  expeditions  went  against  Fort  Du  Quesne  and  other  vulner- 
able points  of  the  French  possessions.  To  furnish  men  for  this  and 
other  expeditions  of  the  previous  year,  the  Cape  towns  had  been  sadly 
depleted,  and  in  1768,  when  more  soldiers  were  sent  out  for  the  re- 
duction of  Canada,  one-third  of  its  efficient  men  were  in  service.  The 
conquest  led  to  the  peace  of  Paris  in  1763,  and  the  concession  to  Eng- 
land of  Canada  and  other  French  possessions.  Great  Britain  became 
really  the  arbiter  of  the  seas  and  of  the  New  World.     Those  who  sur- 


68  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

vived  the  rigors  of  the  northern  winters,  the  confinement  in  prisons 
and  strife  of  battle  were  again  allowed  to  seek  their  humble  homes 
and  assist  in  bearing  the  burden  of  debts  created  by  the  demands  of 
the  long  war.  The  courage  and  strength  of  the  people  of  the  colony 
were  evident  to  Great  Britain,  and  to  most  effectively  secure  a  perma- 
nent sovereignty  over  them  seemed  to  be  the  desire  of  the  parliament. 
But  the  attempt  to  force  the  payment  of  a  portion  of  her  own  debts 
upon  the  colonists  who  had  been  made  to  suffer,  and  had  been  also 
deeply  burdened  in  her  service,  was  the  act  that  deprived  the  mother 
country  of  the  colonies  which  she  so  much  desired  to  retain. 

Revolutionary  War. — In  1766  Great  Britain,  to  relieve  her  treas- 
ury, which  had  been  depleted  by  successive  wars,  assumed  the  right 
to  tax  her  colonies  in  America.  Of  the  taxes  imposed,  the  stamp 
act  and  that  on  tea  were  the  most  odious.  The  repeal  of  the 
former  in  1766  did  not  allay  the  indignation  of  the  colonists.  Peti- 
tions and  rembnstrances  were  of  no  avail,  and  the  determination  to 
resist  was  increased  by  Great  Britain's  persistent  assumption.  In 
1768  meetings  were  held  in  the  several  towns  and  resolutions  passed 
"  that  we  will  purchase  no  imported  goods  until  the  tax  be  repealed." 
Powder  houses  were  erected  in  some  of  the  towns  of  the  county  and 
other  preparations  of  a  warlike  character  were  made.  The  presence 
of  soldiery  in  front  of  Boston  in  1769  fanned  the  latent  spark  into  an 
increasing  flame;  and  when  in  Marcn,  1770,  in  an  affair  near  Faneuil 
Hall,  Boston,  five  of  its  inhabitants  were  shot  down  by  the  British, 
the  flames  became  irrepressible.  In  1773  organizations  called  "  Sons 
of  Liberty  "  sprang  up  in  nearly  every  town,  and  strong  resolutions  of 
resistance  were  passed.  The  last  of  the  tea  ships  sent  to  these  shores 
was  wrecked  on  Cape  Cod  and  most  of  its  cargo  lost;  but  the  knowl- 
edge that  it  was  the  last,  and  that  the  entire  cargo  of  tea  was  steeping 
in  ocean  brine,  did  not  dampen  the  determination  of  the  patriots  of 
this  county.  Frequent  meetings  were  held  and  the  vote  unanimously 
taken  "  to  resist  the  sale  and  use'  of  the  article,  if  needs  be,  in  blood 
to  our  knees."  The  towns  of  the  county  have  in  their  records  many 
earnest  evidences  of  the  zeal  of  the  inhabitants.  The  subsequent 
throwing  overboard  of  342  chests  of  tea  in  Boston  harbor  by  patriots 
disguised  as  Indians,  and  the  many  acts  that  led  to  the  war  for  liberty, 
are  matters  of  a  more  general  history. 

In  the  acts  of  the  entire  colony  in  opposing  the  claims  of  Great 
Britain,  the  people  of  Barnstable  county  acquiesced,  and  in  many  of 
the  most  daring  were  foremost.  In  September,  1774,  the  residents  of 
Sandwich,  joined  by  many  from  the  towns  west,  marched  to  Barnstable 
to  intercept  the  sitting  of  the  court  of  common  pleas.  This  was  not 
only  effectually  accomplished,  but  the  body  of  the  people  obtained 
the  names  of  the  judges  t©  a  promise  that  they  would  not  accept  of 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  69 

any  duties  in  conformity  with  the  unjust  acts  of  parliament,  and  that 
if  required  to  do  any  business  contrary  to  the  charter  of  the  province 
they  would  refuse.  This  uprising  of  the  citizens  of  this  county  was 
one  of  the  first  overt  acts  of  the  colony,  and  it  was  followed  by  re- 
quests to  military  oflBcers  to  resign  the  commissions  held  under  an 
authority  that  would,  if  it  could,  reduce  them  to  slavery  and  obedi- 
ence. This  request  was  generally  acceded  to  by  all  who  held  military 
and  civil  commissions  in  the  county.  While  we  cannot  in  our  lim- 
ited space  give  the  entire  proceedings  of  the  daring  acts,  the  patriots 
who  served  as  leaders  and  committees  were:  Simeon  Wing,  Nathaniel 
Freeman,  Stephen  Nye,  Zacheus  Burge,  Seth  Freeman,  Eliakim 
Tobey,  Joseph  Nye  3d,  Micah  Blackwell,  Josiah  Haskell,  Aaron  Bar- 
low, Joseph  Otis,  George  Lewis,  James  Davis,  John  Crocker,  jr., 
Nathan  Foster,  Thomas  Sturgis,  Solomon  Otis,  John  Grannis,  Elisha 
Swift,  Ebenezer  Nye,  David  Taylor,  John  Chapman, -Joshua  Gray, 
Thomas  Paine,  Nathaniel  Downs,  Doctor  Davis,  John  Doty,  Daniel 
Crocker,  Ebenezer  Jenkins,  Eli  Phinney,  Lot  Nye,  Moses  Swift,  Dan- 
iel Butler,  jr.,  Daniel  Taylor,  Isaac  Hamblin,  Joseph  Crowell,  Ben- 
jamin Freeman,  John  Freeman,  Lot  Gray,  Job  Crocker,  Amos  Knowles, 
jr.,  Samuel  Smith,  David  Greenough,  Dr.  Samuel  Adams,  Jonathan 
Collins,  Deacon  Bassett,  Richard  Sears,  Salathiel  Bumpas  and  Mala- 
chi  Ellis. 

Another  Cape  patriot — James  Otis,  jr. — arose  in  court,  in  1761,  at 
Boston,  where  the  legality  of  "  the  writs  of  assistance  "  was  being 
argued,  and  said:  "  I  am  determined  to  proceed,  and  to  the  call  of  my 
country  am  ready  to  sacrifice  estate,  ease,  health,  applause  and  even 
life."  At  the  town  meetings  of  the  towns  of  the  county  it  was  voted 
to  oppose  the  tyranny  of  Great  Britain  at  the  risk  of  fortunes  and 
lives.  Some  of  the  citizens  were  not  thus  zealous  in  the  cause,  and  in 
the  language  of  that  day  these  were  called  tories.  The  Otis  papers 
and  other  histories  give  accounts  of  bitter  altercations  in  some  towns 
of  the  county;  but  this  fact  did  not  defer  the  action  or  dampen  the 
zeal  of  those  engaged  in  the  cause.  The  peculiar  position  of  the 
county,  topographically,  its  extended  and  exposed  sea  coasts,  and  the 
consequent  evil  to  their  own  shipping  and  fishery  did  not  cause  hesi- 
tation in  acts  that  tended  to  bring  on  the  prolonged  war.  During  the 
blockade  of  Boston  by  the  action  of  the  port  bill,  the  towns  of  this 
county  contributed  liberally  in  money,  wood  and  provisions  to  the 
wants  of  the  people  of  that  city,  and  sustained  them  in  all  their  reso- 
lutions. 

November  16,  1774,  a  county  congress  was  held  in  Barnstable,  at 
which  Hon.  James  Otis  was  chosen  moderator,  and  Colonel  Joseph 
Otis  clerk;  Colonel  Nathaniel  Freeman,  Joseph  Otis,  Thomas  Paine, 
Daniel  Davis  and  Job  Crocker  were  appointed  a  committee  to  com- 


70  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

municate  with  other  counties:  and  the  same  gentlemen,  with  Captain 
Joseph  Doane  and  Captain  Jonathan  Howes,  were  appointed  as  a  com- 
mittee to  consider  the  public  grievances  and  report  at  an  adjourned 
meeting. 

But  the  time  had  arrived  when  the  edict  that  "  the  country  shall 
be  free  "  must  be  enforced  by  the  privations  of  war.  The  happy  fire- 
sides and  rural  avocations  must  be  exchanged  for  the  stem  duties  of 
a  military  life.  Many  noble  deeds  were  performed  in  the  struggle 
that  followed,  which  are,  and  ever  will  be,  unrecorded;  for  no  histo- 
rian can  give  the  people  of  the  Cape  their  full  meed  of  praise. 

In  1775  the  first  din  of  battle  was  heard  when  General  Gage  sent 
troops  to  Concord  to  destroy  the  stores  of  the  provincials,  and  seven 
hundred  men  along  the  road  put  to  flight  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
of  his  royal  army.  Then  the  couriers  went  out  crj'ing,  "  the  war  is 
begun."  No  one  lives  to  remember  the  thrill  of  determination  that 
vibrated  along  the  Cape  to  its  extremity  when  that  cry  leaped  from 
town  to  town.  The  year  was  an  active  one  in  levying  men  for  the 
defense  of  the  coast,  and  Major  Hawley,  Mr.  Sullivan,  Mr.  Gerry  and 
Colonels  Ome  and  Freeman  were  appointed  to  report  proper  regula- 
tions for  minute  men.  Major  Joseph  Dimmick,  with  a  sufficient  force, 
was  commissioned  to  repair  to  Nantucket  and  other  islands  and  arrest 
those  who  were  supplying  the  enemy  with  provisions.  The  defense 
of  the  coast  was  entrusted  to  four  companies;  of  Company  1,  Nathan 
Smith  was  captain;  Jeremiah  Mantor,  first  lieutenant;  and  Fortunatus 
Bassett,  second  lieutenant;  of  Company  2,  Benjamin  Smith,  captain; 
Melatiah  Davis,  first  lieutenant;  and  James  Shaw,  second  lieutenant; 
Company  3,  John  Grannis,  captain;  James  Blossom,  first  lieutenant; 
Samuel  Hallett,  second  lieutenant;  Company  4,  Elisha  Nye,  captain; 
Stephen  Nye,  jr.,  first  lieutenant;  and  John  Russell,  second  lieu- 
tenant. 

In  January,  1776,  General  Washington  called  for  six  regiments  of 
728  men  each,  to  be  raised  in  the  province,  of  which  260  men  were  to 
be  furnished  by  Barnstable  county.  The  committee  to  direct  this 
duty  in  the  county  were  Colonels  Otis  and  Cobb.  Barnstable  and 
Plymouth  countiies  together  raised  one  entire  regiment,  of  which 
Colonel  Carey  of  Bridgewater  was  commandant;  Barachiah  Bassett  of 
Falmouth,  lieutenant  colonel;  Thomas  Hamilton  of  Chatham,  adju- 
tant; and  Nathaniel  Hall  of  Harwich,  surgeon  mate.  Still  later,  in 
January,  another  regiment  was  called  from  the  same  source  to  go  to 
Canada.  Many  of  these  men  were  Mashpees,  who  made  valiant 
soldiers.  On  the  31st  the  militia  of  the  county  was  divided  into  two 
regiments  and  the  general  court  appointed  the  officers;  for  the  first, 
including  Barnstable,  Sandwich,  Yarmouth  and  Falmouth,  Nathaniel 
Freeman,  colonel;  Joseph  Dimmick,  lieutenant  colonel;  Joshua  Gray, 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  71 

first  major;  and  George  Lewis,  second  major;  for  the  second,  includ- 
ing the  towns  of  Harwich,  Eastham,  Chatham,  Wellfleet,  Truro  and 
Provincetown,  Joseph  Doane,  colonel;  Elisha  Cobb,  lieutenant  colonel; 
Zenas  Winslow,  first  major;  and  Gideon  Freeman,  second  major;  Dim- 
mick  declined  in  favor  of  Colonel  Enoch  IJallett,  and  accepted  the 
position  of  first  major  in  place  of  Gray,  who  declined. 

The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  had  been  fought  and  war  was  at  the 
very  door  of  the  Cape.  The  general  court  ordered  that  all  persons 
save  the  merest  portions  of  rags  for  the  manufacture  of  paper,  which, 
by  the  action  of  the  revolted  colonies  and  the  condition  of  affairs, 
could  not  be  otherwise  obtained.  In  February,  1776,  subscriptions 
were  opened  to  give  all  who  had  silver  and  gold  the  opportunity  to 
exchange  the  coin  for  bills,  and  Colonels  Otis  and  Doane  were  ap- 
pointed receivers  for  this  county. 

During  the  year  General  Washington  required  the  court  of  the 
colony  to  furnish  a  large  quota  of  blankets  for  army  use.  The  select- 
men of  the  towns  of  the  Cape  were  required  by  the  court  to  assist  in 
gathering  these  blankets,  and  the  sum  of  ^^190,  9s.,  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Captain  Amos  Knowles  of  Eastham  for  their  purchase. 
Again  men  were  required;  this  call  was  for  203  men  from  this  county. 
Barnstable  raised  forty-five  men.  Sandwich,  Yarmouth,  Harwich  and 
Eastham,  forty  each;  Wellfleet,  eighteen;  Chatham  and  Falmouth, 
twenty-six  each. 

In  March,  1776,  during  the  most  diligent  action  to  supply  the  camps 
of  war  with  necessary  supplies,  the  Cape,  by  its  peculiar  topography 
and  shoals,  had  another  interposition  of  Providence  by  the  casting 
ashore  at  Provincetown  of  a  sloop  load  of  the  enemy's  goods;  these, 
with  the  transport  load  that  was  cast  upon  the  beach  the  same  month 
at  Truro,  went  far  in  relieving  the  needs  of  the  army.  The  need  of 
coats,  waistcoats  and  breeches  was  still  felt,  and  Joseph  Nye  of  Har- 
wich was  appointed  to  procure  as  many  as  he  could  in  Barnstable 
county. 

July  4,  1776,  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  passed.  This 
was  hailed  with  joy  by  all  the  colonies,  and  more  especially  on  the 
Cape,  where  public  meetings  had  been  held  in  June,  in  which  the 
people  had  pledged  their  property,  honor  and  lives  in  its  support. 

Battle  followed  battle,  and  the  tide  of  war  drifted  from  Boston  bar- 
bor  to  the  southwest.  On  the  10th  of  July  one  from  every  twenty- 
five  men  liable  to  military  duty  was  taken  from  Barnstable  county, 
and  Joseph  Nye  of  Sandwich,  and  Amos  Knowles,  jr.,  of  Eastham 
were  appointed  by  the  court  to  make  the  draft.  The  men  were  or- 
dered to  Rhode  Island,  and  for  their  transportation  Joseph  Nye  and 
others  were  appointed  to  purchase  sixty  whale  boats,  to  be  delivered 
at  Falmouth  or  some  convenient  place  on  Buzzards  bay.     This  draft 


72  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

of  men  from  the  Cape  was  more  severely  felt  than  any  former 
ones  of  the  war,  for  many  were  engaged  on  the  sea  and  were  enumer- 
ated among  those  liable  to  do  military  duty. 

The  year  1777  opened  with  many  privations  to  the  people  of  the 
county.  The  most  of  the,  fishing  vessels  were  rotting  at  the  wharves; 
the  traffic  was  gone.  The  farmer  might  plant,  but  perhaps  the  next 
draft  would  not  leave  him  to  harvest.  But  they  hopefully  looked  to 
the  desired  result.  Those  at  home,  not  only  on  the  Cape  but  through- 
out the  colonies,  realized  that  those  in  the  field  and  at  Valley  Forge 
were  also  enduring  hardships;  and  the  vote  of  the  town  meeting  was 
"  that  the  town  will  provide  for  the  families  of  the  absent."  The 
prison-ship  inhumanity  of  the  enemy  was  more  severe  upon  the  resi- 
dents of  the  Cape  than  upon  any  other  county,  for  a  larger  proportion 
were  in  the  naval  service;  but  to  the  credit  of  these  men  history  does 
not  reveal  the  name  of  one  who  preferred  British  gold  or  promotion 
to  the  loathsome  hold.  The  American  privateers  were  continually 
harassing  the  enemy  by  their  success,  having  captured  prior  to  1777 
nearly  five  hundred  British  vessels,  for  which  the  people  of  the  Cape 
were  entitled  to  great  credit. 

The  notes  of  war  were  heard  along  the  Atliantic  coast,  and  early 
in  1777  the  general  court  resolved  to  draft  every  seventh  man  in  the 
colony  to  complete  the  required  quota.  This  was  a  serious  blow  to 
this  Cape,  for  it  was  ordered  to  make  the  draft  from  all  over  sixteen 
years  of  age,  at  home  and  abroad.  In  June  of  the  same  year  eighty- 
eight  more  men  were  drafted  from  the  county  to  proceed  to  Rhode 
Island,  and  August  17th  still  more  were  ordered,  with  field  pieces,  to 
protect  Truro  from  the  invasions  threatened  from  British  men-of-war. 
The  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  October  22, 1777,  caused  rejoicings 
througiout  the  land,  and  the  court  set  apart  a  day  for  a  general 
thanksgiving.  But  the  end  was  not  yet.  In  April,  1778,  the  county 
of  Barnstable  was  required  to  furnish  seventy-two  more  men;  Yar- 
mouth, fourteen;  Barnstable,  fifteen;  Eastham  and  Harwich,  twelve 
each;  Sandwich,  eight;  Falmouth,  six;  Chatham,  Wellfleet  and  Truro, 
five  each,  including  officers.  This  had  hardly  passed  when  on  June 
12th  this  county  was  desired  to  send  seventy-eight  more  men,  also  605 
each  of  shirts  and  pairs  of  shoes  and  stockings.  Of  these  articles 
Barnstable  furnished  eighty-two  of  each;  Yarmouth,  seventy-three; 
Eastham,  sixty-five;  Harwich,  sixty-four;  Sandvrich,  fifty-five;  Well- 
fleet,  forty-five;  Falmouth,  forty-three;  Truro,  forty-two;  Chatham, 
thirty;  and  Provincetown,  six.  The  penalty  for  any  delinquency  was 
thirty  pounds. 

The  drafts  came  so  frequently  that  upon  receipt  of  a  letter  from 
General  Otis  as  to  the  danger  of  the  Cape  from  British  hordes,  in 
which  he  said,  "  it  is  like  dragging  men  from  home  when  their  houses 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  73 

are  on  fire,"  the  court  in  September  ordered  that  "inasmuch  as  the 
militia  of  the  county  have  been  and  continue  to  be  greatly  harassed 
by  the  appearance  of  the  enemy's  ships  and  the  landing  of  troops  in 
their  vicinity,  the  county  be  excused  for  the  present  from  raising  men 
agreeably  to  the  order  of  the  Council."  But  this  order  of  the  council 
applied  to  fifty  men  ordered  to  go  to  Providence;  those  already  or- 
dered were  furnished. in  the  best  possible  manner. 

Among  the  known  disasters  on  the  sea  the  shipwreck  of  the  Gen. 
Arnold,  December  24, 1777,  was  one  of  the  most  distressing.  This 
vessel  mounted  twenty  guns,  with  a  crew  of  105  men  and  boys.  Captain 
James  Magee,  commanding.  In  company  with  the  sloop  of  war 
Revenge,  of  ten  guns,  the  Gen.  Arnold  sailed  from  Boston,  ordered 
south  on  duty.  In  the  bay  the  vessels  encountered  a  violent  storm, 
and  the  Revenge  weathered  Cape  Cod  and  was  saved;  but  the  Arnold, 
on  December  25th,  went  ashore  in  Plymouth  harbor,  and  nearly  all  her 
crew  perished  from  cold.  Of  those  on  board  who  perished  the  twelve 
from  Barnstable  were:  John  Russell,  captain  of  marines;  Barnabas 
Lothrop,  jr.,  Daniel  Hall,  Thomas  Caseley,  Ebenezer  Bacon,  Jesse  Gar- 
rett, John  Berry,  Barnabas  Howes,  Stephen  Bacon,  Jonathan  Lothrop, 
Barnabas  Downs,  jr.,  and  Boston  Crocker,  a  negro  servant.  These 
were  all  from  the  East  parish. 

Some  good  news  was  occasionally  had  in  the  shifting  scenes  of 
war,  as  was  seen  by  the  wreck  of  the  British  ship  Somerset,  which  was 
stranded  November  8,  on  the  banks  at  Truro.  The  crew  of  480  men, 
under  Colonel  Hallett,  were  marched  to  Boston  as  prisoners  of  war. 

In  1779,  June  8th,  more  men  were  called  for  to  re-enforce  the  conti- 
nental army,  and  June  21st  the  county  was  again  required  to  supply  its 
quota  of  shirts,  shoes  and  stockings.  The  number  of  men  to  be 
drafted  was  eighty-seven  and  the  number  of  wearing  apparel  was 
again  505.  Colonel  Enoch  Hallett  was  to  receive  the  clothing.  The 
reader  may  be  surprised  by  the  frequency  of  these  draughts  for  men, 
and  the  compulsion,  with  forfeiture,  to  supply  wearing  apparel;  but 
with  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  the  war  did  not  close.  Lord  Corn- 
wallis  was  in  the  south  with  a  still  larger  force,  and  the  war  was  yet 
in  active  progress.  General  Sullivan's  expedition  against  the  Six 
Nations,  the  powerful  confederacy  of  Indians  of  New  York,  was  sent 
out  this  year.  The  levies  of  men  from  the  county  of  Barnstable  were 
only  its  quota  of  the  whole  number  raised  from  the  several  colonies. 
That  these  frequent  drafts  were  all  promptly  met,  even  in  this  county, 
could  hardly  be  expected;  but  it  is  known  that  the  record  of  the  Cape 
towns  was  no  exception  to  others  of  the  province  in  this  relation. 

The  year  1780  dawned  with  many  depressing  circumstances.  The 
currency  of  the  country  had  now  depreciated  to  one-thirtieth  of  its 
face  value,  and  business  eyerywhere  was  greatly  impeded.     In  May 


74  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

of  this  year,  187  men  and  a  large  quantity  of  beef  were  levied  upon 
the  county.  The  burden  of  these  demands,  removing  from  the  county 
nearly  all  the  able-bodied  men  and  all  the  beef  fit  for  food,  may  be 
imagined.  The  beef  demanded  was  71,280  pounds— Barnstable,  16,- 
510;  Sandwich,  11,120;  Yarmouth,  10,090;  Chatham,  3,860;  Truro, 
3,680;  Eastham,  7,250;  Harwich,  8,250;  Wellfleet,  3,620;  and  Falmouth, 
7,800.  This  was  followed  in  December  by  a  demand  for  156  more 
men  from  the  county — Barnstable,  thirty-one;  Sandwich,  twenty-two; 
Yarmouth,  twenty-four;  Eastham,  seventeen;  Wellfleet,  eight;  Chat- 
ham, nine;  Harwich,  nineteen;  Falmouth,  seventeen;  and  Truro,  nine. 
Again  in  December  of  this  year,  the  commonwealth's  proportion  of  spe- 
cific supplies  for  the  army  was  4,626,178  pounds  of  beef,  of  which  Barn- 
stable county  was  to  supply  136,875  pounds.  In  lieu  of  beef  at  £3, 
7s.,  6d.  per  cwt.,  gjain  could  be  substituted  at  the  rate  of  seven  shil- 
lings per  bushel  for  rye,  five  shillings  for  corn,  three  shillings  for 
oats  and  seven  shillings  for  peas. 

Would  it  surprise  the  reader  to  know  that,  under  all  these  require- 
ments, some  of  the  towns  of  the  various  colonies  should  petition  fbr 
an  abateinent  of  their  levies?  Would  it  be  to  the  discredit  of  the 
Cape  towns  to  be  compelled  to  seek  relief?  Harwich,  Chatham,  East- 
ham and  Yarmouth  at  this  time  asked  for  an  abatement  of  the  levies, 
for  they  had  not  and  could  not  procure  the  beef.  In  May,  1781,  other 
towns  followed  in  similar  petitions,  and  upon  the  refusal  of  any  abate- 
ment, found  it  impossible  to  comply.  A  meeting  of  delegates  chosen 
for  the  purpose  was  held  at  Barnstable,  at  which  Dr.  John  Davis  was 
chosen  to  present  to  the  general  court  the  fact  "  the  inequality  of  the 
burdens  of  the  Cape  seem  not  to  have  been  well  considered  hy  the 
government  heretofore;  that  to  pay  taxes  equal  to  those  more  favor- 
ably circumstanced,  and  to  be  obliged  to  provide  clothing  in  equal 
proportion  to  others,  besides  the  needs  of  the  families  of  the  soldiers, 
was  a  suflBcient  sacrifice  without  being  enjoined  to  stand  side  by  side 
with  agricultural  towns  in  supplying  beef  for  the  army."  But  this 
appeal  to  the  court  was  not  made  until  the  commander-in-chief  had 
asked  for  another  supply  of  beef,  of  which  this  county's  quota  was 
56,489  pounds.    • 

The  year  1781  was  a  deplorable  one  for  the  whole  country,  and  at 
the  opening  of  1782  the  horizon  was  still  darker.  The  condition  of 
the  continental  army  was  distressing.  Baron  Steuben  wrote  of  his 
command  from  Fishkill,  May  28th:  "Yesterday  was  the  third  day  of  our 
army  having  been  without  provisions.  The  army  could  not  make  a 
march  of  one  day.  The  distresses  have  arrived  at  the  greatest  pos- 
sible degree."  General  Greene,  August  13th,wrote:  "  For  three  months, 
more  than  one-third  of  our  men,  were  entirely  naked,  with  nothing 
but  a  breech-cloth  about  them,  and  never  came  out  of  their  tents;  and 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  76 

the  rest  are  ragged  as  wolves.  Our  condition  was  little  better  in  the 
matter  of  provisions."  This  deplorable  condition  of  affairs  was  not 
confined  to  the  army;  destitution  was  everywhere  in  the  colonies;  and 
in  no  place  was  it  more  severely  felt  than  on  the  Cape.  But  to  re- 
plenish the  ranks  of  the  army,  so  depleted  by  sickness  and  mortality. 
General  Washington  in  March  required  one  thousand  five  hundred 
men  for  the  Massachusetts  line,  of  which  the  quota  for  this  county 
was  thirty-six.  The  same  month  the  state  treasurer,  having  been 
petitioned,  was  directed  "to  recall  the  executions  issued,  and  to 
stay  future  executions  for  two-thirds  of  the  taxes,  until  further 
ordered." 

The  darkness  that  precedes  the  dawn  was  exemplified  by  the  con- 
dition of  the  army  and  the  provinces  at  the  opening  of  1783.  Every 
department  of  the  forces  and  every  town  of  the  land  was  in  most  strait- 
ened circumstances.  But  the  dawn  of  peace — the  full  sunshine  of  lib- 
erty— approached;  at  Versailles  articles  had  been  signed  which  ac- 
knowledged the  freedom  and  sovereignty  of  the  colonies,-  and  April 
19th  General  Washington  proclaimed  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  The 
rejoicings  of  a  happy  people,  after  eight  years  of  strife  and  suffering, 
may  be  conjectured  but  cannot  be  described. 

The  war  cost  England  one  hundred  million  pounds  sterling  and 
fifty  thousand  of  her  subjects,  beside  the  loss  of  her  much-coveted  col- 
onies. The  colonies  furnished  during  the  period  288,134  men,  of 
which  83,242  were  sent  from  Massachusetts,  showing  conclusively  the 
importance  of  this  colony  in  the  struggle  for  liberty. 

The  destitution  of  the  colonies,  and  especially  of  the  Cape,  for  sev- 
eral years  need  not  be  recited.  Not  until  1790  did  congress  redeem 
the  bills  that  had  been  issued  to  pay  the  soldiers  and  carry  on  the  war, 
and  then  onlj'  one  dollar  in  coin  was  received  for  one  hundred  dollars 
in  bills.  The  collection  of  taxes  from  a  people  so  prostrated  caused 
difficulties,  of  which  the  so-called  Shay's  rebellion,  in  1786,  was  the 
most  important.  This  insurrection  against  the  state  government  of 
Massachusetts  was  occasioned  by  the  discontent  of  certain  persons 
who  arrayed  themselves  against  the  collection  of  taxes  and  debts.  To 
subdue  this  rebellion  four  thousand  men,  under  the  command  of  Gen- 
eral Lincoln,  were  ordered  into  service;  and  then,  not  until  a  well- 
directed  fire  into  their  Tanks;  killing  many,  did  the'insurgents  conclude 
to  discontinue  the  unequal  contest.  A  similar  spirit  of  insubordina- 
tion was  exhibited  in  New  Hampshire.  The  governor  of  Massachu- 
setts, under  date  of  November  27,  1786,  issued  a  proclamation  to  the 
sheriff  of  Barnstable  county,  directing  him  to  promptly  suppress  all 
indications  of  a  rebellion  against  the  laws,  and  to  call  upon  the  mili- 
tary for  assistance.  As  the  residents  of  the  Cape  have  ever  been 
among  the  most  loyal  to  law  and  order,  it  is  just  to  suppose  that  this 


76  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

order  of  Governor  Bowdoin  was  issued  alike  to  the  sheriffs  of  every 
other  county  of  the  state;  and  this,  considering  the  exigency  of  the 
times,  perhaps  was  the  duty  of  the  executive  branch. 

War  OF  1812.* — After  the  restoration  of  peace,  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  revolutionary  war,  the  French  revolution  took  place  and  France 
declared  war  against  England.  This  war  continued  from  1793  until 
the  treaty  of  peace  at  Amiens  in  1802.  But  this  treaty  was  of  short 
duration,  for  England  became  so  excited  by  the  aggressive  policy  of 
Napoleon  that  war  was  declared  against  France  in  May,  1803,  and  soon 
all  the  European  powers  were  again  involved  in  hostilities.  The 
United  States  was  almost  the  only  power  that  preserved  its  neutrality. 
Being  thus  at  peace  with  the  two  great  nations — England  and  France, 
a  flourishing  commerce,  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  the  country, 
grew  up  in  America,  which  produced  a  high  degree  of  prosperity  in 
the  commercial  portions  of  the  United  States,  and  Barnstable  county 
received  a  remarkable  touch  of  this  new  impetus  given  to  sea  going 
business,  as  a  large  part  of  its  citizens  were  engaged  in  maritime 
pursuits. 

But  these  favorable  advantages  were  not  long  enjoyed  by  the  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States,  for  Napoleon,  in  1806,  issued  the  famous 
Berlin  Decree,  by  which  the  British  islands  were  declared  to  be  in  a 
state  of  blockade,  and  all  commerce,  intercourse  and  correspondence 
with  them  were  prohibited.  In  consequence  of  such  restrictions  the 
commerce  of  the  United  States  with  England  was  much  embarrassed, 
and  was  carried  on  at  a  risk  of  seizure.  The  British  government,  ag- 
grieved by  the  Berlin  Decree,  put  forth  a  retaliatory  measure  by  which 
American  commerce  received  another  damaging  blow;  to  the  effect 
that  all  neutral  vessels  trading  with  France  should  be  confiscated. 
This  order  was  followed  by  another  in  1807,  by  which  all  trade  in 
French  goods  and  the  goods  of  other  nations  with  which  England  was 
at  war,  was  entirely  prohibited.  Then  followed  an  order  by  Napoleon 
called  the  Milan  Decree,  by  which  every  vessel  of  whatsoever  nation, 
that  had  been  searched  by  an  English  vessel  and  had  consented  to  be 
sent  to  England,  was  to  be  considered  as  a  lawful  prize.  By  such  acts 
and  measures  on  the  part  of  England  and  France,  a  fatal  blow  was 
aimed  at  American  commerce,  and  the  course  pursued  by  the  two 
hostile  nations  was  disastrous  to  the  prosperity  of  this  country. 

The  blockade  of  the  European  ports  from  Brest  to  the  Elbe,  de- 
clared by  Great  Britain  and  not  maintained  by  an  actual  naval  force, 
was  by  the  United  States  government  looked  upon  as  a  "  paper  block- 
ade," and  therefore  of  no  avail,  and  any  seizure  made  by  British  ves- 
sels of  American  commerce  was  a  palpable  violation  of  the  rights  of 
a  nation  occupying  a  neutral  position  in  time  of  war.     Owing  to  the 

•  By  Joshua  H.  Paine,  Esq.,  of  Harwich. 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  77 

dangers  threatened  to  commerce  by  the  "  decrees  "  of  France  and  the 
"  orders  in  council  "  of  Great  Britain,  the  United  States  government, 
under  Jefferson,  laid  an  embargo  on  all  exports  from  the  United  States, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  retaliate  on  the  position  taken  by  France 
and  England  in  relation  to  commercial  intercourse  with  these  two 
great  powers  of  Europe.  But  the  embargo  became  very  unpopular 
and  worked  very  disastrously  to  the  shipping  interest  of  this  country, 
and  in  no  other  section  was  there  greater  suffering  and  prostration  of 
business  than  in  the  maritime  industries  of  Cape  Cod. 

The  embargo  was  repealed  by  congress  in  1809,  and  was  followed 
by  an  act,  called  the  "Non-intercourse  law,"  by  which  all  trade  and 
intercourse  with  France  and  England  were  prohibited.  Neither  the 
embargo  nor  the  non-intercourse  law  had  any  effect  in  causing  the 
British  government  to  recede  from  the  offensive  position  it  had  taken, 
or  France  to  revoke  its  "  decrees,"  so  fatal  to  American  commerce.,  By 
such  obstinacy  on  the  part  of  both  nations,  and  in  view  of  the  threat- 
ened outrages  to  American  commerce,  it  was  a  question  for  some  time 
whether  to  declare  war  against  France  or  England,  but  the  persistency 
of  the  British  in  intercepting  American  vessels  and  impressing  British 
seamen  therefrom  decided  the  question,  and  war  was  declared  against 
England  by  President  Madison,  June  19,  1812. 

Hon.  Isaiah  L.  Green,  member  of  congress  from  the  Barnstable 
district,  voted  for  the  act  declaring  war,  and  appears  to  have  been 
sustained  in  so  doing  by  the  citizens  of  the  district,  as  the  follow- 
ing preamble  goes  to  show:  "  Resolved  that  the  Hon.  Isaiah  L.  Green, 
our  Congressional  representative,  has  done  nobly,  and  deserves 
well  of  his  country,  and  that  he  enjoys  the  confidence  of  his  constit- 
uents." 

As  a  large  part  of  the  business  of  Cape  Cod  was  upon  the  ocean,  no 
portion  of  the  country  would  be  subjected  to  greater  deprivations  and 
inconveniences  than  Barnstable  county  by  the  operations  of  war,  and 
the  people  dreaded  the  issue;  but  still  they  considered  it  just,  neces- 
sary and  unavoidable,  and  acquiesced  in  all  measures  of  the  general 
government  in  its  prosecution;  being  ready  at  all  times  to  engage  in 
the  defense  of  the  country,  both  on  sea  and  land,  in  order  that  those 
rights  for  which  the  war  was  waged  might  be  obtained. 

Soon  after  the  news  had  reached  England  that  war  had  been  de- 
clared, British  men-of-war  began  to  hover  around  the  New  England 
coasts.  All  communication  by  water  with  Boston  and  other  commer- 
cial ports  on  the  New  England  coasts  was  cut  off  by  British  ships  of 
war  cruising  about  the  bay,  and  when  at  anchor  they  would  send  out 
their  barges  to  capture  the  small  craft  that  might  venture  out  in  quest 
of  fish,  or  those  that  undertook  to  make  a  passage  from  port  ta  port 
along  shore. 


78  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

The  whole  of  Massachusetts  bay  was  under  complete  control  of  the 
British  during  the  war,  and  no  part  of  the  state  was  more  annoyed 
and  menaced  than  the  several  towns  of  Barnstable  county.  The 
Spencer,  of  fifty -two  guns,  held  possession  of  Provincetown  harbor,  and 
was  considered  by  the  people  of  the  Cape  the  "  Terror  of  the  Bay." 
The  frigate  Nymph  and  the  Bulwark,  each  carrying  seventy-four  guns, 
guarded  the  shores  of  the  upper  Cape  towns  and  also  the  Plymouth 
coast,  and  proved  to  be  quite  vigilant  in  intercepting  and  destroying 
navigation.  The  admiral's  ship,  Majestic,  lay  at  anchor  between  Truro 
and  Provincetown,  and  it  is  said  that  the  crew,  for  exercise  in  naval 
training,  would  practice  gunnery,  having  for  a  target  an  old  wind  mill 
standing  in  Truro. 

On  the  south  shores  of  the  Cape  the  Nimrod  did  much  mischief  by 
frequent  attacks  upon  vessels  and  boats  that  attempted  to  venture  out 
far  from  land,  and  the  towns  bordering  on  the  sound  were  kept  in 
constant  fear  and  trepidation  by  the  oft  repeated  threats  of  her  com- 
mander to  bombard  and  burn  the  "  little  villages  by  the  shore." 

The  British  privateer  Retaliation,  of  five  guns,  cruised  up  and  down 
the  sound,  and  was  a  gfreat  annoyance  to  the  small  craft  that  sailed 
"  along  shore."  She  was  finally  captured  by  Captain  Weston  Jenkins, 
of  the  sloop  Two  Friends,  while  lying  at  anchor  in  Tarpaulin  cove,  and 
was  brought  to  Falmouth  as  a  prize  of  considerable  value  to  a  brave 
and  determined  crew  of  thirty-two  men. 

Notwithstanding  the  constant  presence  of  British  cruisers  in  the 
bay  and  sound,  quite  frequently  some  bold  and  intrepid  adventurers, 
under  the  cover  of  night,  would  elude  the  vigilence  of  those  armed 
vessels  and  in  their  little  craft  would  succeed  in  reaching  a  distant 
commercial  port,  obtain  a  cargo,  and  return  again  to  their  place  of 
departure  in  safety.  The  great  scarcity  of  corn  which  prevailed  upon 
the  Cape  during  the  war  compelled  some  of  the  more  daring  captains 
to  run  the  risk  of  being  taken  by  the  enemy,  and  by  discreet  and 
crafty  maneuvering  they  would  succeed  in  bringing  a  load  now  and 
then  from  the  southern  ports,  and  necessarily  it  was  sold  at  a  very 
high  price.  Several  vessels  and  a  number  of  large  boats  were,  how- 
ever, captured  and  destroyed,  the  enemy  confiscating  the  cargoes  and 
setting  the  men  found  on  board  at  liberty.  The  packet  sloop  plying 
between  Barnstable  and  Boston,  commanded  by  Captain  Howes,  was 
taken  by  the  frigate  Nymph,  and  with  her  cargo  was  burned.  S.  B. 
Phinney  of  Barnstable,  then  a  lad  of  six  summers,  a  passenger  with 
his  father,  was  on  board  at  the  time  of  the  capture,  but  was  soon  set 
at  liberty.  In  many  instances  the  crews  of  captured  vessels  were  held 
as  prisoners  subject  to  a  ransom  from  their  friends. 

Commodore  Raggelt,  of  the  ship  Spencer,  made  frequent  demands 
upon  several  of  the  Cape  towns  for  payments  of  certain  sums  of  money 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  79 

to  secure  exemption  from  an  attack,  and  to  prevent  the  destruction  of 
property.  The  town  of  Brewster,  being  so  harassed  and  threatened 
by  the  enemy,  paid  four  thousand  dollars,  the  sum  demanded.  East- 
ham  paid  one  thousand  dollars,  but  the  other  towns  positively  refused 
to  make  any  contributions.  The  people  were  determined  to  defend 
the  towns  to  the  last  extremity.  Military  companies  were  formed  in 
all  parts  of  the  county,  and  were  in  readiness  at  all  times  to  march  to 
any  point  where  the  enemy  might  attempt  to  land.  Committees  of 
safety  were  appointed  in  the  most  exposed  towns,  the  duties  of  which 
were  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  British  cruisers  in  the  bay  and 
report  at  headquarters  whenever  any  hostile  demonstrations  were 
tnade.  Alarm  posts  were  established  in  all  the  towns,  and  a  code  of 
signals  fixed  upon  to  give  warning  to  the  militia  and  "  yeomanry  of 
the  land  "  whenever  the  enemy  appeared  in  view.  Sentinels  were  de- 
tached from  the  several  companies  to  guard  the  shores. 

In  view  of  the  exposed  situation  of  the  Cape  to  the  depredations  of 
the  enemy,  frequent  appeals  were  made  to  the  state  government  for  a 
supply  of  artillery  and  other  munitions  of  war.  Collector  Green  of  the 
port  of  Barnstable,  asked  for  a  detachment  of  flying  artillery  and  a  sup- 
ply of  military  stores,  and  Simeon  Kingman,  Esq.,  of  Orleans,  acting  as 
an  agent  of  the  town, went  to  Boston  bearing  a  proposition,  the  substance 
of  which  was  that  an  artillery  company  would  be  formed  if  the  gov- 
ernment would  furnish  the  necessary  equipments.  Both  gentlemen 
were  unsuccessful  in  their  efforts  to  obtain  assistance  from  the  state, 
and  it  became  very  apparent  that  the  Cape  must  furnish  "its  own  pro- 
tection, although  Governor  Strong,  in  his  speech  before  the  state  sen- 
ate and  house  of  representatives,  October  14,  1812,  says:  "  We  have  in 
this  state  several  hundred  miles  of  sea-coasts  and  more  than  one  hun- 
dred of  the  towns  may  be  approached  by  the  enemy's  ships.  *  *  * 
It  will  be  necessary  that  the  whole  militia  should  be  armed  and 
equipped  in  the  best  possible  manner  and  ready  to  march  at  the  short- 
est possible  notice,  and  in  case  of  invasion,  that  arms  should  be  in  read- 
iness for  every  man  who  is  able  to  bear  them." 

Not  a  large  number  enlisted  to  join  the  army  on  the  northern 
frontier  from  the  Cape.  Their  services  were  required  in  protect- 
ing their  own  homes.  During  the  continuance  of  the  war  the' cit- 
izens of  Barnstable  county  able  to  bear  arms  were  constantly  on 
the  look-out,  ready  to  spring  to  their  guns  whenever  the  alarm  was 
given  of  a  threatened  invasion,  and  they  might  with  propriety,  be 
called  "minute  men,"  so  ready  and  determined  were  they  to  beat 
back  the  invading  foe. 

In  the  spring  of  1813,  Lieutenant  Proctor  opened  a  recruiting 
ofl&ce  in  Harwich,  and  a  number  enlisted  from  that  and  adjoining 
towns  to  join  the  army  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Lakes.     On  the  fifth 


80  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

of  April,  1813,  they  departed  for  the  seat  of  war  on  the  northern 
frontier.  Great  were  the  hardships  and  siifferings  they  endured  on 
their  long  march  through  the  then  unsettled  portions  of  Massachu- 
setts and  New  York.  They  joined  the  forces  under  General  Brown 
and  were  in  the  battles  of  Sackett's  Harbor,  Lunday's  Lane,  Fort  Erie 
and  Bridgewater. 

A  number  of  men  from  the  Cape  entered  the  navy  and  did  valiant 
service.  Two  of  the  crew  of  the  United  States  frigate  Constitution 
were  Harwich  men,  when  she  captured  the  British  frigate  Guerriere. 

The  brig  Reindeer,  Captain  Nathaniel  Snow,  of  Truro,  having  a 
crew  mostly  of  Cape  Cod  men,  sailed  from  Boston  in  the  month  of  De- 
cember, 1814,  under  letters  of  marque  to  cruise  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Western  islands  and  on  the  coast  of  Spain,  to  capture  and  annoy  the 
British  commerce.  They  encountered  a  terrific  gale  in  the  Bay  of 
Biscay,  and  came  very  near  being  lost.  Between  the  Western  island 
and  the  mouth  of  the  English  channel  they  captured  six  prizes.  After 
removing  portions  of  the  cargo,  they  burned  the  vessels.  They  fell 
in  with  several  other  fleets  of  merchantmen,  but  as  they  were  of  su- 
perior strength  and  under  a  strong  convoy,  they  were  obliged  to  with- 
draw, and  sailed  for  the  harbor  of  Corunna,  a  seaport  of  Spain,  in  the 
province  of  Galicia.  Before  the  vessel  was  ready  for  sailing  they  re- 
ceived the  intelligence  that  peace  had  been  declared  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain. 

During  the  last  year  of  the  war  the  people  of  Barnstable  county 

experienced  the  greatest  deprivations  of  the  necessaries  of  life.     The 

intercourse  between  the  states  was  so  far  interrupted  that  a  small 

quantity  only  of  flour  and  corn  could  be  obtained  from  the  southern 

ports,  and  the  small  amount  that  was  in  the  market  brought  great 

prices.     Flour  sold  for  eighteen  dollars  per  barrel,  and  corn  brought 

$2.50  per  bushel.    It  was  almost  impossible  for  vessels  to  reach  the 

West  Indies  and  return  in  safety,  consequently  molasses  and  sugar 

were  very  scarce.     The  good  housewives,  however,  would  improvise 

a  kind  of  molasses  from  cornstalks  and  pumpkins,  which  was  quite  a 

good  substitute  for  the  real  article,  serving  an  excellent  purpose  in 

the   culinary  department,  besides  making  the  wives  of  those  days 

doubly  sweet  to  their  lords,  and   each   could  say  of  his  wife,  with 

Milton, 

'  •  Love,  sweetness,  goodness  in  her  person  shined." 

On  account  of  the  geographical  situation  of  Cape  Cod,  projecting 
about  sixty  miles  out  into  the  Atlantic  ocean,  and  all  the  towns  thereon 
being  approachable  by  water,  no  part  of  the  country  was  more  ex- 
posed to  the  rapacity  of  the  enemy  than  this  portion  of  Massachusetts. 
The  inhabitants  were  in  constant  fear  and  trepidation  during  the  war, 
thinking  that  the  foe  might  at  any  time  land  and  devastate  their  homes. 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  81 

As  the  British  cruisers  were  most  of  the  time  in  the  eastern  por- 
tions of  American  waters,  Cape  Cod  was  in  proximity  to  the  scene  of 
several  naval  conflicts,  and  it  was  no  uncommon  sound  for  the  people 
to  hear  the  heavy  roar  of  artillery  as  it  came  booming  over  the  bosom 
of  old  ocean.  The  heavy  cannonading  of  that  celebrated  naval  duel 
between  the  Chesapeake  and  Shannon,  off  Boston  harbor  June  1,  1813, 
was  distinctly  heard  by  the  people  of  Cape  Cod. 

The  town  of  Falmouth  was  greatly  harrassed  by  the  British  during 
the  war.  A  bombardment  took  place  at  one  time  by  which  the  meet- 
ing house  and  several  dwelling  houses  were  slightly  injured.  It  is  a 
matter  of  wonderment  that  they  did  not  entirely  destroy  the  town, 
as -it  was  so  exposed  to  the  range  of  their  g^ns,  and  possessing  as  they 
did  a  spirit  of  vandalism  which  manifested  itself  afterward  in  bom- 
barding Stonington,  Conn.,  burning  the  capitol  at  Washington,  the 
congressional  library  and  other  public  buildings,  besides  destroying 
private  dwellings  and  storehouses. 

A  demand  was  made  upon  Orleans  by  the  British  for  the  payment 
of  a  certain  sum  of  money  as  a  protection  against  the  destruction  of 
property  and  for  the  safety  of  the  inhabitants,  but  the  insulting  requi- 
sition was  peremptorily  declined.  On  the  19th  of  December,  1814, 
they  attempted  to  land  from  their  barges  and  put  into  execution  their 
oft-repeated  threats.  Their  movements  were  quickly  observed  by  the 
citizens,  an  alarm  was  given  and  in  a  short  time  the  militia  of  the  town 
was  at  Rock  harbor,  the  place  of  operations.  A  lively  encounter  took 
place  and  one  or  more  of  the  invaders  were  killed.  After  a  short  skir- 
mish they  were  repulsed  and  returned  to  their  ship,  which  was  at 
anchor  outside  of  the  bar.  The  militia  of  the  adjoining  towns,  on 
learning  that  demonstrations. were  being  made  at  Orleans,  started  at 
once  for  the  scene  of  action,  but  did  not  arrive  in  season  to  take  part 
in  the  action.  This  little  skirmish  was  styled  the  "  Battle  of  Orleans," 
and  about  sixty  years  after  the  participants  or  their  surviving  widows 
obtained,  under  an  act  of  congress  passed  March  3,  1855,  land  war- 
rants of  160  acres  as  a  bounty,  and  a  few  were  granted  pensions  under 
an  act  of  congress  passed  March  9,  1878,  giving  a  pension  to  all  sailors 
or  soldiers  who  were  in  any  engagement  during  the  war  of  1812. 

A  report  reached  several  of  the  Cape  towns  on  the  second  of  Octo- 
ber, 1814,  that  the  enemy  were  making  preparations  to  land  at  Barn- 
stable. The  militia  turned  out  in  full  force  and  soon  were  en  route  ior 
the  contemplated  scene  of  action.  No  attack  was  made,  however,  and 
the  several  companies  returned  to  their  homes  after  two  nights'  tarry 
in  camp  at  Barnstable. 

The  constant  watchfulness  and  vigilance  of  the  people  were  evi- 
dently known  to  the  British  in  their  armed  vessels  as  they  hovered 
about  the  bay,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  they  would  have  landed 
« 


82  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

and  done  much  miscliief,  even  devastated  the  Cape,  had  no  resistance 
been  offered.  But  in  repelling  the  invaders  the  defenders  of  the  soil 
bad  the  "  vantage  grounds,"  for  had  they  attempted  to  land  in  force 
at  low  tide  the  militia  and  citizens  under  arms  could  have  easily  kept 
them  at  bay  on  the  treacherous  flats,  from  their  fortified  positions  on 
the  shore,  until  the  tide  arose,  when  they  would  have  been  over- 
whelmed by  its  flow,  like  Pharoah's  army  of  old.  To  have  landed  at 
high  tide  would  have  been  equally  as  disastrous,  for  it  would  have 
been  very  difficult  for  them  to  effect  a  landing  from  their  barges  in 
any  kind  of  military  order  in  the  face  of  such  a  determined  opposition 
as  the  militia  and  citizen  soldiery  presented. 

The  people  of  the  Cape  during  the  war  maintained  that  spirit^  of 
resistance  to  British  tyranny  which  characterized  the  American  people 
all  over  the  Union,  and  in  the  protection  of  the^r  homes  .  displayed 
patient  endurance  and  zealous  patriotism. 

The  downfall  of  Napoleon  in  1814,  caused  by  the  allied  powers  of 
Europe,  put  an  end  to  the  contest,  and  the  principal  causes  of  the  war 
between  the  United  States  and  England  were  removed.  The  object 
for  which  the  war  was  waged  having  been  gained,  peace  was  effected 
December  24,  1814,  at  Ghent,  the  capital  of  East  Flanders,  Austria, 
and  ratified  by  the  United  States  government  February  17th  follow- 
ing.   Again,  as  Watson  has  it, 

"  The  stars' and  stripes,  Columbia's  sacred  flag. 
Like  eagle's  pinions  fluttered  in  the  breeze: 
And  the  Red  Lion,  haughty  Briton's  emblem, 
Discomfited,  went  howling  back  with  rage, 
To  lair  amidBt  the  white  cliffs  of  Albion." 

The  news  of  peace  was  hailed  with  joy  by  the  citizens  of  Barn- 
stable county.  Under  its  glorious  sunlight  a  degfree  of  prosperity 
soon  manifested  itself  in  all  departments  of  business.  The  hardy 
fishermen  resumed  their  toils  upon  the  waters  without  fear  of  molesta- 
tion from  armed  cruisers.  Commerce  spread  its  white  wings  in  pro- 
fusion over  the  billows,  and  the  industries  of  the  land  started  up  with 
new  life  and  increased  vigor. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


MILITARY   HISTORY  (Concluded). 


The  Civil  War.— The  Election  of  Lincoln  and  the  Fall  of  Sumter.— The  first  Call  for 
Three-Months'  Men.— Response  from  the  Cape  Towns.- War  Meetings.— Subsequent 
Calls.— Bounties.— Enlistments.— Return  of  the  Volunteers. — G.  A.  R.  Posts.- Mon- 
uments. 


THE  news  of  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter,  in  April,  1861, 
greatly  affected  and  changed  the  feelings  of  the  political  parties 
of  the  Cape;  and  when  the  surrender  of  the  fort  by  Major 
Anderson,  on  the  13th,  was  announced,  the  feeling  was  almost  unani- 
mous in  favor  of  crushing  the  rebellion,  the  method  remaining  the 
only  party  question.  Of  the  citizens  of  the  Cape  large  numbers  were 
engaged  in  various  pursuits  on  the  sea;  but  those  at  home  recognized 
the  issue  as  inevitable  and  were  at  once  determined  in  their  action. 

On  the  morning  of  Monday,  April  15th,  appeared  the  proclamation 
of  Abraham  Lincoln,  calling  for  seventy-five  thousand  men  for  three 
months,  to  suppress  the  rebellion.  Its  effect  was  like  an  electric  spark 
in  quickening  the  resolution  and  action  of  the  men  of  this  county. 
The  president's  estimate  was  short  of  the  necessities  of  the  movement, 
as  the  history  of  the  war  abundantly  proved;  but  to  his  calm  and  judi- 
cious patriotism  a  grateful  nation  has  erected  enduring  monuments  of 
granite,  and  engraved  his  deeds  upon  lasting  pages  of  history. 

The  first  official  act  of  this  Commonwealth  relating  to  the  war  was 
the  recommendation  by  Governor  Andrew,  in  January,  1861,  that  the 
adjutant  general  ascertain  with  accuracy  the  number  of  officers  and 
men  of  the  volunteer  militia  of  the  state  who  would  instantly  respond 
to  any  call  of  the  president  of  the  United  States  for  troops.  January 
23,  1861,  the  legislature  passed  a  resolution  tendering  to  the  president 
the  aid  of  the  Commonwealth  in  enforcing  the  laws;  and  February  15th 
an  act  was  approved  providing  for  the  retention  in  service  of  all  mili- 
tia organizations  then  existing,  and  for  the  formation,  "  as  the  public 
exigency  may  require,"  of  other  companies  by  the  municipal  officers  ' 
of  cities  and  the  selectmen  of  towns.  On  April  3,  1861,  the  first  ap- 
propriation made  by  the  legislature  for  war  purposes  was  a  sum  of 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  to  equip  two  thousand  soldiers  for  active 
service.     In  May  of  that  year  the  legislature,  before  its  adjournment. 


84  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

gave  full  power  to  the  gfovemor  and  his  council  to  issue  scrip,  or  cer- 
tificates of  debt,  in  various  sums  not  to  exceed  seven  million  dollars, 
to  be  expended  for  the  government;  and  gave  authority  to  towns  to 
raise  money  by  taxation  for  war  purposes,  for  which  the  state  would 
reimburse  them  to  a  limited  extent.  Let  such  patriotism,  manifested 
thus  early  in  -the  Old  Bay  State,  be  forever  on  record  for  the  benefit 
of  the  present  and  unborn  generations !  Her  militia  were  first  in  the 
field.  On  the  15th  of  April,  1861,  a  telegram  was  received  from  Sen- 
ator Wilson  at  Washington,  requesting  twenty  companies  to  be  sent 
to  the  national  capital  to  act  in  defense  of  that  city.  The  request  was 
immediately  complied  with  by  sending  state  militia,  whose  military 
history  is  foreign  to  this  chapter. 

The  first  seven  companies  enlisted  in  the  state  under  the  call  of 
the  president,  which  were  subsequently  the  first  mustered  into  the 
service  of  the  United  States  for  the  term  of  three  years,  were  the 
nucleus  of  what  was  actually  the  first,  but  misleadingly  numbered  the 
Twenty-ninth  Regular  M.  V.  These  seven  companies  were  those  of 
Captain  Chamberlain,  raised  in  Lynn,  April  18th;  Captains  Tyler  and 
Clarke,  raised  in  Boston,  April  19th;  Captain  Chipman,  Sandwich, 
April  20th;  Captains  Leach,  Barnes  and  Doten,  raised  respectively  in 
East  Bridgewater,  East  Boston  and  Plymouth,  about  April  20th.  Thus 
the  Cape  raised  the  fourth  of  the  first  seven  companies  enlisted  in 
Massachusetts  within  four  days  after  the  call. 

With  only  a  few  hours'  notice,  a  very  large  meeting  was  held  Sat- 
urday evening,  April  20,  at  Sandwich,  "  to  devise  means  and  ways  to 
raise  a  company  of  troops  for  the  defence  of  the*  country."  Theodore 
Kern  called  the  meeting  to  order,  Dr.  Jonathan  Leonard  was  chosen 
to  preside,  and  E.  S.  Whittemore  was  chosen  to  act  as  secretary.  Dur- 
ing the  fevening  $626  was  pledged  toward  a  bounty  for  the  men  who 
should  enlist.  A  committee  of  nine  was  chosen  to  thoroughly  canvass 
the  town  and  raise  more  bounty  money— sufficient  to  pay  twenty  dol- 
lars to  each  man.  Three  men  were  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  gov- 
ernor and  oflFer  the  services  of  the  company.  On  the  sixth  of  May  the 
company  were  ready  for  commands  from  Governor  Andrew,  and  on 
the  eighth  proceeded  to  Boston.  The  election  of  officers  of  this  com- 
pany was  presided  over  by  the  selectmen  of  the  town  of  Sandwich, 
and  the  following  list  of  commissioned  officers  may  be  pointed  to  as 
the  first  from  Barnstable  county:  Charles  Chipman,  captain;  Charles 
Brady,  first  lieutenant;  Henry  A.  Kern,  second  lieutenant;  Alfred  E. 
Smith,  third  lieutenant;  James  H.  Atherton,  fourth  lieutenant;  and 
the  company  adopted  the  name  "Sandwich  Guards."  This  company 
was  at  once  sent  to  Fortress  Monroe,  and  formed  Company  D  in  the 
Third  regiment  of  the  militia.  In  July,  1861,  it  was  made  part  of  the 
Massachusetts  Battalion,  and  in  December  of  the  same  year  was  em- 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  86 

braced  in  the  Twenty-ninth  Massachusetts  Infantry.  This  valiant 
company  participated  in  the  battles  of  Fair  Oaks,  Gaines'  Mills,  Peach 
Orchard,  Savage  Station,  Malvern  Hill,  Centerville,  South  Mountain, 
Antietam,  Fredericksburg,  and  others. 

The  first  special  town  meeting  of  Sandwich  for  war  purposes  was 
held  May  11,  1861,  at  which  four  thousand  dollars  was  voted  for  the 
support  of  the  families  of  those  who  had  enlisted,  and  five  hundred 
dollars  to  uniform  the  first  company  accepted  from  the  town. 

The  town  furnished,  according  to  the  report  of  its  selectmen,  292 
men  for  the  army — exceeding  the  several  quotas  by  two  men.  Twelve 
of  its  men  were  commissioned  officers.  The  money  expended  was 
$33,081.99,  besides  $19,938.55  for  state  aid.  The  other  towns  of  the 
county  also  called  special  town  meetings,  or  later  ratified  the  action 
of  their  selectmen. 

Concerning  Yarmouth's  action,  Hon.  Charles  F.  Swift  says:  "  The 
part  taken  by  the  town  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  is  briefly  summa- 
rized. Informal  meetings  were  held  during  the  summer  and  fall  of 
1861,  in  which  material  aid  for  the  troops  in  the  field  was  provided 
for,  volunteering  encouraged  and  hospital  supplies  sent  forward.  May 
2,  1862,  the  first  legal  town  meeting  was  held.  James  B.  Crocker  was 
chosen  moderator,  and  a  series  of  resolutions,  presented  by  Charles  F. 
Swift,  adopted.  These  pledged  the  aid  of  the  town  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  recommended  especially  volunteering  for  the  navy,  as  the 
^special  department  of  the  service  adapted  to  our  people.  July  2d,  a 
town  meeting  was  held  to  procure  enlistments,  D.  G.  Eldridge,  mod- 
erator. Three  years'  men  were  offered  one  hundred  dollars  on  being 
mustered  in  and  one  hundred  dollars  when  honorably  discharged. 
The  town's  quota  was  filled  in  a  few  days.  August  14th  a  bounty  of 
$125  each  was  offered  by  the  town  to  nine  months'  men.  December  1, 
1863,  a  meeting  was  called  to  aid  in  the  enlistment  of  '  300,000  more  ' 
troops,  Charles  F.  Swift,  moderator.  Oliver  Gorham,  N.  C.  Fowler, 
David  Matthews  and  (subsequently)  Freeman  Howes  were  appointed 
a  committe  to  co-operate  with  the  selectmen  in  filling  the  quota.  April 
24,  1864,  a  meeting  was  held  to  aid  in  filling  the  town  quota  '  under 
the  two  last  calls  of  the  President,'  C.  F.  Swift,  moderator.  At  this 
meeting  $125  was  voted  to  each  recruit,  and  June  1st  it  was  announced 
that  the  quota  was  filled,  through  the  expenditure  of  two  thousand 
four  hundred  dollars  by  the  citizens'  committee.  Under  the  last  call 
for  troops  citizens'  meetings  were  held  in  July;  $325  being  offered  for 
recruits,  and  three  hundred  dollars  paid  to  those  who  had  furnished 
substitutes.  The  collapse  of  the  rebellion  rendered  further  effort  use- 
less. Yarmouth  furnished  250  men  for  the  army  and  navy,  five  over 
all  demands.  There  were  fifteen  volunteer  officers  in  the  navy  and 
three  pilots  from  this  town.     The  expenditures  of  the  town  for  war 


86  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

purposes  was  $17,017,  besides  $3,692.10  voluntarily  contributed  by  in- 
dividuals, in  all,  $20,609.10.  The  sum  of  $4,514.71  was  expended  in 
aid  of  soldiers'  families." 

Provincetown  had  the  first  special  town  meeting  May  2,  1861,  at 
which  strong  resolutions  were  passed  and  ample  provisions  made  for 
the  enlistment  of  troops.  Several  meetings  were  held  during  the  war; 
the  contributions  of  the  citizens  for  filling  quotas  were  reimbursed, 
and  the  town  sent  to  the  service  fifty-seven  men  more  than  were 
called.  Three  were  commissioned  officers  in  the  service.  The  num- 
ber reported  by  the  selectmen  was  247;  but  the  number  much  exceeded 
that.  The  whole  amount  of  money  raised  was  $37,462,  and  for  state 
aid,  which  was  reimbursed,  $7,368.24.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  Province- 
town  paid  to  the  families  of  volunteers  double  the  amount  reimbursed. 
The  ladies  of  the  town  organized,  in  1862,  a  Soldiers'  Aid  Society, 
which  contributed  $2,291.65  in  money  and  clothing.  The  exposure  of 
this  extreme  portion  of  the  Cape  induced  the  government  to  erect 
earthworks,  which  were  garrisoned  by  a  company  of  volunteers. 

Barnstable  commenced  raising  troops  early,  and  held  its  first 
special  town  meeting  May  10,  1861.  At  this  meeting  liberal  bounties 
were  offered,  promises  were  made  for  the  support  of  soldiers'  families, 
and  money  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  governor  for  the  assist- 
ance of  the  troops  of  the  state.  On  the  21st  of  July,  1862,  still  stronger 
resolutions  of  patriotism  and  aid  were  passed,  and  the  bounties  were 
increased.  The  work  of  the  selectmen  and  clerk  was  most  arduous, 
but  was  cheerfully  accomplished.  The  number  of  men  reported  as 
sent  was  272 — thirty-five  over  and  above  all  demands.  The  acting 
adjutant  general  of  the  state  reported  that  Barnstable  had  underrated 
the  number  sent.  Three  of  these  men  were  commissioned  officers. 
The  sum  appropriated  was  $38,674.15,  besides  $19,662.93  for  state  aid, 
which  was  refunded.  The  work  of  the  Barnstable  ladies  was  import- 
ant. Three  aid  societies  were  organized — one  each  in  its  three  largest 
villages — which  contributed  the  sum  of  $1,283,  and  many  thousand 
articles  of  clothing,  bandages  and  luxuries. 

Harwich  showed  the  same  earnest  determination  by  calling  a  town 
meeting  May  10,  1861,  at  which  resolutions  were  passed  to  place  a 
coast  guard  of  one  hundred  men,  and  raise  money  to  pay  bounties  for 
the  enlisting  of  troops.  Several  meetings  were  held  during  1862  and 
the  bounties  were  increased;  committees  were  appointed  to  recruit 
men  and  assist  the  selectmen;  and  a  very  liberal  appropriation  of 
money  was  made.  In  the  meeting  of  November  7,  1866,  the  town 
voted  "  that  the  selectmen  treat  all  widows  in  town  whose  husbands 
have  fallen  in  the  war,  with  especial  benevolence,  and,  if  they  have 
no  house,  see  that  they  have  a  home  outside  of  the  almshouse."  This 
was  very  commendable.     The  town  furnished  341  men — a  surplus  of 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  87 

twenty-nine  over  all  demands — of  whom  four  were  commissioned 
officers.  The  sum  raised  during  the  war  was  $42,660.02,  and  $1]  ,462.99 
for  state  aid,  which  was  refunded.  The  ladies  of  the  several  religious 
societies  sent  many  needed  articles  to  the  army  hospitals. 

The  first  town  meeting  of  Brewster  to  consider  war  matters  was 
held  May  21,  1861,  which  made  liberal  provision  for  the  aid  fund,  en- 
listing soldiers,  and  for  the  support  of  their  families.  Meetings  were 
called  often  during  the  continuance  of  the  war  and  the  selectmen  were 
always  empowered  to  expend  money  in  every  manner  for  the  interest 
of  the  town  in  its  relation  to  the  common  cause,  and  the  care  of  the 
families  of  absent  soldiers.  Brewster  furnished  141  men  for  the  war, 
a  surplus  of  seventeen;  and  expended  $19,453.73,  besides  a  large  con- 
tribution from  liberal-minded  citizens.  The  sum  for  state  aid  was 
$4,356.23,  which  was  refunded.  An  aid  society  by  the  ladies  did  much 
good. 

Wellfleet  sent  several  men  to  Fortress  Monroe  in  April,  1861,  and 
was  rapidly  enlisting  a  company  when  the  first  special  town  meeting 
was  called  in  May  following.  Bounties  for  those  who  had  enlisted 
and  who  might,  were  liberally  provided;  and  a  request  was  sent  to  the 
governor  for  equipments  for  a  full  company.  The  meetings  of  each 
succeeding  year  of  the  war  increased  the  bounties,  not  forgetting  the 
needs  of  the  soldiers'  families.  No  officers  were  commissioned  from 
this  town;  but  221  men  were  furnished  on  the  different  calls,  which 
was  twenty-five  more  than  required.  About  $2,000  was  contributed 
by  individuals  and  $18,324.67  was  raised  by  the  town  for  war  purposes, 
besides  $1,138.73  for  state  aid,  which  was  reimbursed.  The  ladies  or- 
ganized an  aid  society  to  work  for  the  sick  and  wounded  in  hospitals. 
At  the  expiration  of  the  war  the  unexpended  funds  of  the  society  were 
given  in  aid  of  a  monument  for  deceased  soldiers. 

In  Chatham  several  citizens'  meetings  were  held  during  the  first 
year  of  the  rebellion,  and  every  necessary  action  was  taken  for  sup- 
plying the  town's  quota  of  volunteers  and  the  necessary  funds  for 
bounties  and  soldiers'  families.  July  22,  1862,  a  town  meeting  was 
held  to  reimburse  the  liberal  contributions  of  the  citizens  and  approve 
of  what  the  selectmen  had  already  accomplished.  The  meeting  voted 
a  monthly  sum  of  eighteen  dollars  to  each  family  of  the  men  absent 
on  duty,  which  was  six  dollars  a  month  more  than  was  reimbursed  by 
the  state.  In  February,  1863,  the  selectmen  had  borrowed  on  their 
individual  notes  $8,000,  which  had  been  expended  in  bounties  and 
other  necessary  expenditures.  At  a  meeting  then  held  this  town 
promptly  assumed  the  entire  liability,  arranged  for  meetings  on  every 
Tuesday  evening  in  furtherance  of  the  cause,  and  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  assist  the  selectmen.  In  1866,  after  the  close  of  the  war,  the 
town  voted  to  refund  every  citizen  the  money  he  had  contributed  and 


88  HISTORY   OF  BARh'STABLE   COUNTY. 

pay  every  person  who  had  furnished  a  substitute  the  money  he  had 
necessarily  expended.  Chatham  furnished  264  men,  which  was  a  sur- 
plus of  thirty-two;  five  were  commissioned  oflScers.  The  money  ex- 
pended was  $27,611.69,  and  for  state  aid  $6,487.42. 

In  Dennis,  every  action  required  for  furnishing  means  and  men 
for  the  war  was  taken,  during  1861,  by  the  citizens  and  selectmen, 
and  not  until  July  26,  1862,  did  the  town  act  in  a  corporate  capacity; 
then,  under  the  president's  call  for  three  hundred  thousand  men,  the 
town  appointed  six  gentlemen  to  act  with  the  selectmen  in  recruiting 
volunteers,  and  arranged  a  bounty  of  $260  each  for  former  and  future 
enlistments.  The  reports  of  the  action  of  the  town  during  the  war 
are  not  as  full  as  some  of  the  others,  but  the  result  shows  that  Dennis 
was  not  only  very  earnest  in  the  good  work,  but  could  show  a  better 
record  at  its  conclusion.  The  reprorts  of  the  town  show  that  220  men 
were  furnished  for  the  war;  but  in  the  army  and  navy  Dennis  had 
over  360.  Every  call  of  the  president  was  promptly  filled,  and  in  the 
final  aggregate  a  surplus  of  forty -three  men  had  been  furnished.  The 
money  raised  and  expended  was  $22,652.66,  with  $3,813.61  for  state 
aid,  which  the  Commonwealth  refunded  as  it  did  to  other  towns. 

During  the  year  1861  the  town  of  Eastham  held  no  special  meet- 
ings in  a  corporate  capacity,  but  its  citizens  and  officers  filled  every 
call  for  men,  and  furnished  ample  means  for  necessary  expenses  and 
bounties.  In  1862,  July  28th,  when  the  largest  call  of  the  war  was  made 
for  men,  the  citizens  in  a  special  town  meeting  voted  full  authority 
for  the  action  of  the  selectmen  as  well  as  provided  for  what  had  been 
previously  done.  Meetings  were  held  as  often  as  necessary,  money 
was  raised  as  needed,  and  the  bounty  for  soldiers  placed  at  $160.  No 
commissioned  officers  went  from  the  town,  but  eleven  men  were  sent 
in  excess  of  the  quota.  The  number  of  men  furnished  was  seventy- 
seven;  the  money  expended  was  $3,476.54;  and  the  state  aid  fund  was 
$833.23. 

In  Falmouth,  as  in  other  towns,  many  of  the  best  young  men  were 
on  the  seas  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion;  but  every  require- 
ment of  men  and  money  was  fulfilled,  with  a  surplus  of  ten  men  over 
the  quota.  August  2,  1862,  a  special  town  meeting  was  held  at  which 
a  bounty  of  $125  was  promised  to  every  volunteer  who  was  accepted  by 
the  government  and  one  hundred  dollars  when  regularly  discharged 
from  the  service;  to  this  private  citizens  added  ten  dollars  for  each 
volunteer.  Enlistments  were  rapid,  and  every  subsequent  demand 
was  as  promptly  met.  Falmouth  was  compelled  to  enlist  many  from 
outside,  and  furnished  in  all  258  men — 138  for  the  army  and  twenty 
for  the  navy  from  its  own  citizens.  The  amount  raised  and  expended 
was  $20,154.35  exclusive  of  the  aid  fund,  which  was  $4,674.20.  The 
ladies  of  Falmouth  furnished  their  share  of  aid  to  the  soldiers  in  the 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  0» 

field.  This  town,  like  others,  had  sacrifices  that  called  for  the  con- 
tinued aid  and  sympathy  of  its  citizens;  one  case  was  where  three 
sons  of  a  very  poor  citizen  enlisted,  and  all  were  killed;  one  left  a 
wife  and  five  small  children,  and  upon  the  other  two  the  aged  parents 
of  the  three  valiant  sons  depended  for  support. 

No  corporate  action  of  the  town  of  Truro  was  taken  during  the 
year  1861,  but  all  quotas  were  filled  by  the  officers  and  citizens  until 
July  25, 1862,  when  at  a  special  town  meeting  their  action  was  rati- 
fied and  expenditures  refunded  by  the  vote  of  the  town.  A  bounty  of 
two  hundred  dollars  was  offered  for  nine-months'  men,  and  the  most 
liberal  provisions  were  made  at  each  future  meeting  for  the  volun- 
teers and  their  families.  At  a  meeting,  February  4,  1863,  the  town 
voted  to  bring  home  the  remains  of  Edward  Winslow,  the  first  of  its 
soldiers  who  had  fallen;  and  that  the  widow  and  orphan  children  of 
the  deceased  receive  a  gratuity  of  one  hundred  dollars.  Through  the 
selectmen,  assisted  by  proper  committees,  Truro  furnished  144  men 
for  the  war — an  excess  of  fourteen  over  all  demands.  The  fund  ex- 
pended was  $4,786.10,  and  the  amount  sent  to  the  state  aid  was 
$2,328.21,  which  was  refunded. 

The  preceding  summary  of  the  action  of  the  several  towns  of  Barn- 
stable county  is  brief  but  reliable,  and  gives  facts  of  which  its  citizens 
may  well  be  proud.  The  several  selectmen  of  the  towns  in  1866  re- 
ported 2,305  men  as  having  been  sent  into  the  service;  but  the  num- 
ber must  have  been  greater,  as  the  percentage  of  men  furnished 
throughout  the  commonwealth  was  9^  to  every  one  hundred  inhabit- 
ants, and  this  county  not  only  filled  every  quota  but  furnished  an  ex- 
cess of  309  men.  The  total  expenses  of  the  towns  aggregate  the 
enormous  sum  of  $399,919.92,  of  which  $90,934.84  was  paid  as  state  aid, 
and  mostly  refunded. 

The  general  court  in  1863  made  provision  for  reimbursing  the 
towns  the  bounties  they  had  paid  to  volunteers  enlisting  under  the 
calls  of  the  president  of  July  and  August,  1862,  not  exceeding  one 
hundred  dollars  for  each  volunteer.  The  assessors'  report  from  Barn- 
stable county  show  that  bounties  were  paid  to  532  men,  a  total  of  $84- 
395.35  under  those  calls. 

The  legislature  of  1864  passed  an  act,  approved  May  14th,  which 
provided  for  the  enrollment  of  all  able  bodied  male  citizens  of  the 
Commonwealth  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five  years. 
The  lists  were  made  by  the  assessors  and  filed  with  town  clerks  July 
1,  1864.  Copies  of  these  lists  returned  to  the  adjutant  general  show 
133,767  effective  men,  in  the  state,  liable  to  military  duty.  The  state 
was  then  divided  into  249  districts,  and  the  militia  residents  of  each 
district  were  organized  as  a  company,  and  in  December  were  ordered 
to  elect  their  captain.     Sandwich  was  made  District  45;  Barnstable 


90  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

and  Falmouth,  46;  Yarmouth,  47;  Harwich,  48;  Brewster,  Dennis  and 
Chatham,  49;  Eastham  and  Orleans,  50;  Truro  and  Wellfleet,  51; 
Provincetown,  52. 

A  few  weeks  before  the  call  of  October  17,  1863,  for  three  hundred 
thousand  new  troops,  provision  was  made  that  the  district  provost 
marshal,  or  their  agents  should  receive  fifteen  dollars  for  each  new 
recruit,  and  twenty-five  dollars  for  each  re-enlistment;  but  from  this 
rule  Massachusetts  was,  by  request  of  Governor  Andrew,  excepted, 
and  these  fees  made  payable  to  the  selectmen  of  the  several  towns 
who  secured  the  enlistments.  The  amount  paid  to  the  several  towns 
under  this  arrangement  was  used  exclusively  to  promote  enlistments, 
and  the  local  recruiting  officers  received  only  a  per  diem  allowance 
while  actually  employed. 

After  the  original  call  for  a  draft  in  Massachusetts,  the  selectmen 
of  the  several  towns  filed  sworn  statements,  showing  the  number  of 
men  each  town  had  furnished  to  the  army  prior  to  February  1,  1863. 
The  following  list  of  names  comprehends  the  men  furnished  by 
Barnstable  county  during  the  years  of  1861-1866,  as  reported  by  the 
adjutant  general  of  the  state.  We  have  classified  with  care  the  mus- 
tering in  of  companies  and  regiments,  and  have  especially  arranged 
the  names  by  towns  to  better  enable  the  reader  to  find  those  of  any 
particular  locality  when  the  number  of  the  regiment  is  known.  To 
the  names  of  those  who  died  in  the  service  from  disease,  prison  life, 
or  were  killed,  the  time  and  place  are  given. 

THREE   months'   MEN. 

Third  Regiment,  Militia,  enlisted  May,  1861. — Sandwich:  Co.  K, 
Charles  M.  Packard,  corp.;  Howard  Burgess,  Sylvester  O.  Phinney, 
William  W.  Phinney;  Co.  L,  George  H.  Freeman. 

Fourth  Regiment,  1SQ\.— Falmouth:  Co.  F,  George  W.  Washburn, 
George  S.  Jones. 

one  hundred  days'  men. 

Fifth  Regiment,  July,  \SQ\.—Sandwich:  Co.  A,  Joseph  W.  Phin- 
ney, Corp.;  Sands  K.  Chipman,  Charles  S.  Clark,  Alvin  C.  Howes, 
Prince  A.  Phinney,  re-enlisted  in  Twenty-fifth  Infantry.  And  the 
following  were  mustered  in  1862:  Yarmouth:  Co.  E,  Jarius  Lincoln, 
jr.,  serj.;  Edwin  H.  Lincoln,  mus.;  Charles  P.  Baker,  Darius  Baker, 
George  H.  Baker,  W.  I.  Baker,  Watson  Baker,  Edwin  Chase,  Frederick 
N.  Ellis,  Warren  H.  Ellis,  Edmund  H.  Gray,  Elam  S.  Marcarta,  E.  Dex- 
ter Paine,  David  Snow,  Franklin  Thacher.  Dennis:  Co.  E,  Horatio 
Howes,  Corp.;  Edmund  Matthews,  corp.;  Sylvester  F.  Baker,  John  Con- 
sidine,  John  W.  Greenleaf,  Hiram  H.  Hall,  Jeremiah  G.  Hall,  Joseph 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  91 

W.  Hall,  Luther  Hall,  Edwin  Howes,  Henry  F.  Howes,  George  W. 
Richardson,  Peter  B.  Smalley.  Barnstable:  Co.  E,  Alfred  C.  Phinney, 
died  at  Newbern,  April,  1863;  George  E.  Hopkins,  Laurence  Chase, 
Isaac  Coleman,  Ebenezer  Eldridge,  Thomas  R.  Eldridge,  Charles  E. 
Phinney,  James  P.  Jones,  Albert  A.  Kingsley,  John  Mansir,  Allen 
Marchant,  Herman  Oler,  William  Sharpe,  Smith  P.  Slocum.  Brewster: 
Co.  E,  James  F.  Crosby,  Enoch  C.  Jones,  Joseph  A.  Myrick,  Benjamin 
F.  Paine,  Josiah  W.  Seabury. 

Sixth  Regiment,  1864. — Sandwich:  Co.  A,  Joseph  S.  Corliss. 

Eighth  Regiment,  \&Q\.— Harwich:  Co.  G,  Alonzo  F.  Chase,  Peter 
B.  Chase. 

Twenty-third  Regiment,  1862,  enlisted  for  nine  months. — Falmouth: 
Co.  L  Sylvester  Bourne,  jr.,  William  Jenkins,  John  A.  Tobey. 

Forty-second  Regiment,  1861. —  Yarmouth:    Co.  E,  Eben  Matthews. 

NINE  months'   men. 

Forty-third  Regiments—  Wellfliet:  L.  Bell,  Solomon  L.  Haves,  Ed- 
mund B.  Robinson.  Chatham:  Co.  E,  Charles  M.  Upham,  prom.  2nd 
lieut.  in  1863;  John  W.  Atwood,  serg.;  William  H.  Harley,  Charles  E. 
Atwood,  Francis  Brown,  Benjamin  S.  Cahoon,  John  W.  Crowell, 
Ephraim  Eldridge,  Cyrus  Emery,  Franklin  D.  Hammond,  James  S. 
Hamilton,  James  T.  Hamilton,  Josiah  J.  Hamilton,  David  Harding, 
Samuel  H.  Howes,  re-enlisted  Co.  B,  Second  H.  A.;  Charles  Johnson, 
Horatio  F.  Lewis,  Storrs  L.  Lyman,  Andrew  S.  Mayo,  Benjamin  Rogers, 
Francis  B.  Rogers,  Joshua  N.  Rogers,  George  A.  Taylor.  Orleans: 
Co.  E,  Joshua  S.  Sparrow,  Joseph  L.  Kendrick,  mus.;  John  W.  Finn, 
re-enlisted  Co.  D,  Second  H.  A.;  Jonathan  S.  Freeman,  re-enlisted  Co. 
A,  Second  H.  A.;  Caleb  Hayden,  Sol.  S.  Higgins,  Thomas  R.  Higgfins, 
John  M.  Horton,  Benjamin  C.  Kenrick,  James  W.  Lee,  Isaac  Y.  Smith, 
killed  Dec,  '62;  Simeon  L.  Smith,  re-enlisted  Co.  A,  Second  H.  A.; 
Freeman  Snow,  re-enlisted  Second  H.  A.  Eastham:  Co.  E,  George  H. 
Collins,  Corp.;  Alonzo  Bearse,  James  G.  Crowell,  Albert  F.  Dill,  Alvin 
L.  Drown,  Daniel  P.  Hopkins,  William  W.  Hopkins,  Samuel  Snow. 
Harwich:  Co.  E,  Charles  G.  Rodman,  corp.;  Luther  Crowell,  Winslow 
Baker,  W.  H.  H.  Barrett,  Thomas  Y.  Cahoon,  David  P.  Clark,  Joseph 
Crabbe,  John  N.  Dow,  Alvards  C.  Ellis,  Charles  S.  Freeman,  Gideon 
H.  Freeman,  David  M.  McVea,  Thomas  H.  K.  Parks,  Joshua  Small, 
dis.;  Charles  E.  Snow,  no  service.  Provincetown:  Co.  E,  James  B.  Cook, 
David  Cook,  John  Connelly,  George  Lockwood,  re-enlisted  Second  H. 
A.;  John  Powers,  re-enlisted  Second  H.  A.;  William  Sullivan,  Thomas 
K.  Verge,  Henry  Young.  Truro:  Co.  E,  John  A.  Gross,  John  M.Carey, 
John  P.  Crozier,  Amasa  E.  Paine,  Henry  R.  Paine,  Jeremiah  H.  Rich, 
Daniel  P.  Smith,  Isaiah  Snow.    Dennis:  Co.  E,  John  S.  Chase,  Samuel 


92  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Robbins,  Ensign  Rogers,  re-enlisted  Second  H.  A.;  Edwin  Tripp, 
Francis  M.  Tripp,  W.  H.  Young.  Brewster:  Co.  E,  Laurence  Doyle. 
Barnstable:  George  Eldridge,  Owen  Keeler.  Co.  K,  Warren  Cammett, 
John  N.  Collier,  corp. 

Forty-fourth  Regiment,  1862.— 7>«r^.-  Co.  A,  James  H.  Killian, 
corp.  Wellfleet:  Co.  A,  James  M.  Atwood,  Daniel  D.  Smith,  Daniel 
W.  Wiley;   Co.  G,  Charles  H.  Holbrook.     Brewster:  Co.  I,  Benjamin 

F.  Bates,  James  R.  Henry.     Provincetoivn:  Co.  T,  John  L.  Eldredge. 
Forty-fifth  Regiment,  enlisted  1BQ2.— Barnstable:  Co.  D,  Francis 

Jenkins,  serg.;  Freeman  H.  Lothrop,  corp.;  Osttiond  Amos,  Charles  E. 
Bearse,  Clarence  W.  Bassett,  killed  Dec,  '62;  George  H.  Bearse,  died 
at  Newbem  Jan.,  '63;  Joseph  P.  Bearse,  Nathan  Hi  Bearse,  Henry  C. 
Blossom,  E.  W.  Childs,  Frederick  W.  Childs,  Simeon  C.  Childs,  Nelson 
S.  Crocker,  Eliphalet  Doane,  David  Fuller.  James  B.  Hamblin,  George 
D.  Hart,  John  B.  Hinckley,  Charles  E.  Holmes,  Asa  Jenkins,  Alexan- 
der B.  Jones,  Hercules  Jones,  Hiram  Nye,  Harrison  G.  Phinney, 
Joseph  Whytal,  Thomas  Williams,  re-enlisted  Second  H.  A.;  Aaron 
A.  Young,  died  Jan.,  '6b,  of  wounds,  at   Newbem;    Co..  I,  Oliver 

G.  Appley,  Levi  A.  Baker,  Isaiah  B.  Linnell.  Sandwich:  Co.  D,  George 
L.  Haines,  corp.;  H.  Chipman,  corp.;  Henry  F.  Benson,  died  of  wounds, 
Dec,  '62,  at  Newbem;  George  H.  Burgess,  Joseph  P.  Chipman,  Samuel 
Chipman,  Watson  H.  Fifield,  John  D.  Foster,  Henry  C.  Greene, 
Thomas  Hackett,  Ezra  Hamblin,  Augustus  Holway,  Thomas  E.  Hol- 
way,  Nathaniel  C.  Hoxie,  James  T.  Jones,  Henry  H.  Knippe,  Fred- 
erick U.  Lovell,  Samuel.  H.  Lovell,  William  C.  Riorden,  Charles  H. 
Stimpson,  Thomas  O.  Stimpson,  Albert  Wheeler,  Stillman  Wright. 
Co.  K,  Thomas  F.  Holmes.  Provincetown:  Co.  E.  Joshua  Ryder.  Fal- 
mouth: Co.  H,  Gilbert  A.  Bearse,  Ansel  E.  Fuller. 

Forty-seventh  Regiment. — Sandwich:  Co.  F,  Nathan  B.  Fisher. 
Brewster:  Gardner  E.  Wetherbee,  died  at  New  Orleans  Feb.,  '63.  .  Or- 
Jeans:  Co.  F,  Azariah  S.  Walker.  Yarmouth:  Co.  G,  Joseph  Bassett, 
Benjamin  Lovell,  John  E.  Ryder.  Provincetown:  Co.  1,  William  W. 
Smith,  Corp.;  Caleb  D.  Smith,  mus.;  George  S.  Cook,  Alexander  Gay- 
land,  Joseph  P.  Holland,  George  W.  King. 

ONE   YEAR   MEN. 

Sixtieth  Regiment,  unattached  one  year  men,  mustered  1864. — 
Yarmouth:  Co.  E,  Charles  H.  Gorham,  William  Lewis.  Falmouth:  Ro- 
land Fish.  Barnstable:  James  G.  Warren,  2d'lieut.;  Phineas  K.  Clark, 
serg.;  William  T.  Baker,  serg.;  Leven  S.  Morse,  serg.;  John  N.  Mitch- 
ell, Corp.;  John  E.  Murphy,  corp.;  John  Flood,  Noah  J.  Lake,  Daniel 
D.  Mitchell,  William  H.  Munroe,  Samuel  P.  Raymond,  George  W. 
Richardson,  John  P.  Sears,  Abraham  L.  Teachman,  Charles  H.  Tripp, 
Stephen  V.  Weaver,  Reuben  Weeks. 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  93 

THREE   YEARS'    MEN,    LIGHT  ARTILLERY. 

First  Battery,  1864. — Dennis:  James  Knowlan.  Orleans:  Timothy 
Sullivan,  John  Wilson. 

Second  Ba.ttery. —Barnstad/e:  John  Hughes,  mus.,  died  at  Vicks- 
burg,  July,  '65;  John  Carroll,  jr.,  George  Craig.  Truro:  James  Brown, 
Ezra  F.  Folsom,  died  at  Baton  Rouge,  May,  '64;  Cornel, us  Gannon, 
Charles  Hamilton.  Sandwich:  George  Lamberton.  Orleans:  Joseph 
Moody,  died  in  Louisiana,  Jan.,  '65;  Stephen  F.  Smith,  died  at  New  Or- 
leans, Nov.,  '64. 

Third  'BdXX.&xy.— East  ham:  Thomas  Jones,  trans,  to  Fifth  Battery. 

Fourth  Battery,  \%QA^.— Falmouth:  William  Dillingham.  Yar- 
mouth: James  Fitzgerald.  Sandwich:  John  Kelley.  Dennis:  Phillippi 
Martyn.     Barnstable:  Jerry  O'Keefe. 

Fifth  '2>'a.\XQxy .—Sandwich:  Joseph  B.  Alton,  Nathan  Case. 

Sixth  Battery. — Falmonth:  Horace  H.  George,  trans.  Province- 
toivn:  Andrew  Byrnes,  William  Price,  Thomas  Leonard.  Wellfleet: 
Martin  Curran.  Brewster:  Charles  Emeley,  James  H.  Richards,  John 
B.  Whealin.     Sandwich:  Bradford  Gibbs.     Orleans:  George  Thomson. 

Seventh  'QdXX.^ry.— Wellfleet:  George  H.  Carmichael,  Frank  Cook. 
Provincetown:  Patrick  Donnelly.  Eastham:  John  Mahoney.  Dennis.- 
Patrick  Sherlock. 

Ninth  Battery. — Sandwich:  Edward  Le  Bum,  mus.  Dennis:  George 
F.  W.  Haines. 

Tenth  Battery. —  Truro:  Samuel  Paine,  corp.  Dennis:  Thomas 
Smith.     Barnstable:  Alvin  Thompson,  Charles  D.  Thompson. 

Eleventh  Battery. —  Yarmouth:  Charles  H.  Weaver,  corp.  Prov- 
incetown: James  Giles,  John  J.  Sampson. 

Twelfth  Battery.— Z'^www.-  Alois  Hoffman,  Charles  Lejeune,  Henry 
Leport,  William  Moore.  Provincetown:  William  H.  Wilkes,  serg.;  John 
Boyle,  Thomas  Brown,  A.  Duke,  Foster  Fairbridge,  William  Larney, 
William  Olmstead,  Robert  Smith,  James  Wade,  James  Wilson.  Brew- 
ster: Timothy  T.  Hogan,  Thomas  King,  Charles  Linscott,  Patrick 
McGrath.     Eastham:  Henry  Merrill. 

Thirteenth  Battery. — Eastham:  Michael  Cronin,  corp.;  Thomas 
Carmody,  Sylvester  Shea.  W^ir/Z/f^^/.- William  Boyle.  Harwich:  George 
Brown.  Sandwich:  Paschal  Gon,  William  Taylor,  trans,  to  navy.  Fal- 
mouth: Ezekiel  B.  Graves,  died  at  New  Orleans,  Oct.  '64.  Barnstable: 
Edward  D.  Sullivan. 

Fourteenth  Battery,  1864.— Barnstable:  Alexander  Baker,  Peter 
Brudle,  Leander  B.  Cash,  Simeon  C.  Childs,  jr.,  died  in  hospital,  Oct. 
'64;  Job  F.  Childs,  Charles  Damon,  Henry  Denney,  Mat.  Gannon, 
Charles  E.  Holmes,  Isaiah  B.  Linnell.  Benjamin  F.  Nickerson;  David 
Nickerson.     Sandwich:   John  J.  Hart.      Yarmouth:    Jacob  Olar.     Har- 


94  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

wick:  Charles  E.  Riva.  Brewster:  David  N.  Rogers,  died  March  '64. 
Dennis:  George  Turner. 

Fifteenth  Battery,  X^Q'i. —Sandwich:  Eleazer  W.  Chase,  Robert 
Decker,  George  Hubbs,  James  Jackson,  Benjamin  Jones,  John  Mott, 
Douglas  A.  Park,  James  A.  Ross.    Provincetown:  Albion  Coburn. 

Sixteenth  Battery,  \m^.—Bar7istable:  George  W.  Childs,  William 
Childs,  jr.,  Benjamin  F.  Crosby,  Adolphus  Davis,  Andrew  C.  Nicker- 
son,  Joseph  H.  Phinney.  Eastham:  Lewis  Vasconi.  Wellfleet:  John 
Wilson.     Chatham:  William  Conners,  trans,  to  Sixth. 

HEAVY  ARTILLERY,   1864. 

First  Regiment.— C/ia//iaw.-  Co.  A,  David  Keith.  Orleans:  Co.  A, 
Edward  Laselle.  Provincetown:  Co.  B,  William  T.  Tolman;  Co.  F, 
Thomas  Marsdon.  Wellfleet:  Co.  G,  Daniel  Gilmore.  Eastham:  Co.  I, 
William  J.  W.  Yates.  Unassigned  and  no  record:  Charles  L.  Harts- 
home  of  Harwich,  John  Hart  of  Falmouth,  Daniel  Lovett  and  Thomas 
Pepper  of  Wellfleet. 

Second  Regiment,  1863-1864. — Orleans:  Co.  A,  Jonathan  S.  Tru- 
man; Co.  D,  Alonzo  R.  Nelson,  trans.;  Co.  H,  Abraham  Schuster. 
Provincetown:  George  Lockwood,  died  at  Newbern,  Nov.,  '64.  Co.  M, 
Patrick  Drew;  unassigned,  William  C.  Reynolds.  Harwich:  Co.  A, 
George  E.  McCluskey,  trans,  to  Seventeehth;  Co.  G,  Robeirt  Smith; 
Co.  I,  Edward  Pettis,  to  Seventeenth  Inf.;  William  F.  Morang;  Co.  H, 
Horace  S.  Favor,  corp.  Chatham:  Co.  B,  Samuel  H.  Howes,  1st  serg.; 
Co.  M,  Charles  Dunbar.  Barnstable:  Co.  B,  William  Fay,  trans.  Seven- 
teenth Inf.  Falmouth:  Co.  C,  John  Scheelds;  Co.  D,  Michael  Collins, 
to  Co.  H;  Co.  E,  Timothy  Maloney,  trans.  Seventeenth  Inf.;  Co.  G, 
.  Thomas  Ryan,  Frank  E.  Vamum,  trans.  Seventeenth.  Wellfleet:  Co.  C, 
William  Upton;  Co.  E,  John  Welch;  Co.  F,  Thomas  Mahan;  Co.  I,  Domi- 
nick  Basso,  Frank  Newber;    Co.  M,  Michael  GaflFney.      Sandwich:  Co. 

E,  Ephraim  W.  Fish.  Brewster:  Co.  L,  George  Eldridge;  Owen  Keeler, 
Patrick  Riley,  Thomas  Tutman.     Eastham:  Co.  M,  Patrick  McNamara. 

Third  Regiment,  1863-1864.— 6'r/^awj;  Co.  A,  Nathaniel  Trumans, 
Corp.,  trans,  to  navy;  Seneca  O.  Higgins,  trans,  to  navy;  Augustus 
Mayo;  Co.  D,  Joseph  B.  Higgins,  trans,  to  navy;  Co.  L,  John  Harri- 
son, serg.;  Edward  D.  Wiggins,  James  A.  Rowe,  corp.;  John  Black, 
James  P.  Johnston,  Charles  H.  Meserve,  John  Wade;  Co.  M,  Augus- 
tus H.  Moore,  William  Burrill,  John  B.  Ewing;  unassigned,  Andrew 
J.  Quinlan.      Barnstable:   Co.  B,  Paul  R.  Crocker,  John  Hinckley;    Co. 

F,  from  Hyannis,  Lawrence  Chase,  Thaddeus  S.Clark,  trans. to  navy; 
Gilbert  Lewis,  Lovett  Lewis,  James  H.  Wyer;  Co.  M,  Michael  Dor- 
gan,  serg.;  James  Coleman,  corp.;  William  Boss,  art.;  Edward  Leni- 
han,  Patrick  Mahoney,  George  R.  Marshall,  James  McLaughlin.  Yar- 
mouth: Co.  B,  Ziba  Ellis,  Asa  Matthews;    Co.  K,  William  Onderdonk, 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  95 

serg.;  James  M.  Luzarder,  Henry  McGill,  Daniel  St.  Clair.  Falmouth: 
Co.  B,  Ephraim  W.  Fish,  Francis  Marion,  Albert  C.  McLane;  Co.  F, 
Gilbert  A.  Bearse.  Sandwich:  Co.  B,  Seth  F.  Gibbs,  Frederick  A.  Nor- 
ris,  William  H.  Dillon,  Michael  Gavan,  Henry  H.  Manning;  unas- 
signed,  James  Collins,  George  W.  Towns.  Harwich:  Co.  B,  Edward 
T.  Ryder,  Charles  D.  Sherman,  Alexander  W.  West.  Brewster:  Co.  K, 
Oscar  Moore;  Co.  M,  Daniel  H.  Elliott.  Eastkam:  Co.  L,  Matthew 
Thompson.  /'ww?«c<'/'ow«.-  Co.  K,  Elisha  B.  Newman;  Co.  M, Thomas 
Wells;  unassigned,  Duane  Newell. 

Fourth  Regiment,  1864,  one  year  men. — Sandwich:  James  H.  Ather- 
ton,  1st  lieut.  Provincetown:  Co.  I,  Kendall  W.  Blanchard;  Co.  K, 
Frank  B.  Libby.     Orleans:  Co.  I,  Enoch  Wilson. 

First  Battalion,  Heavy  Artillery,  three  years,  enlisted  1862-1864. — 
Provincetown:  Co.  A,  Alden  Bass.  Harwich:  Co.  B,  James  O.  Stone, 
serg.;  Co.  D,  Charles  S.  Hartshorn,  Edward  G.  Reed,  Frank  W.  Sawin. 
Orleajis:  Co.  C,  Stillman  Cole,  Frank  B.  Taylor.  Falmouth:  Co.  C,  John 
Hart. 

CAVALRY   REGIMENTS. 

First  Regiment,  1863-1864.— IVellpet:  Co.  B,  Daniel  Crillis;  Co. 
M,  John  R.  Rose,  trans.  Co.  H;  Co.  M,  William  R.  Bryant.  Dennis: 
Co.  C,  Michael  Murphy;  Co.  E,  Carl  Bartlett,  died  Andersonville, 
Oct.,  '64;  Robert  Lampson,  trans,  to  navy;  Co.  H,  Michael  Nennery, 
Patrick  O'Neil,  Elois  Paspartout.  Barnstable:  Co.  D,  Louis  Bellow, 
mus.;  Co.  L,  Frank  Fero,  William  Harrison,  Patrick  Murray,  Frank 
O'Donnell;  Co.  L,  George  Green,  serg.  Falmouth:  Co.  D,  John  Aus- 
tin, Charles  O.  Witham.  Sandivich:  Co.  G,  Nathaniel  H.  Fisher,  re- 
enlisted;  Co.  K,  William  W.  Phinney,  serg.,  died  in  Co.  K,  Fourth 
California;  Henry  H.  Knippe,  died  at  Andersonville,  Aug.,  '64;  Co.  L, 
Joseph  K.  Baker.  Orleans:  Co.  K,  John  O'Hara,  hos.  stew.;  Joseph  H. 
Luther.  Provincetown:  Co.  H,  Edmund  Dubois.  Yarmouth:  Co.  L  Ol- 
iver Lowell,  trans,  to  Co.  C. 

Second  Regiment,  formed  in  1864. — Provincetown:  Co.  A,  Charles 
H.  Allen;  Co.  G,  Peter  Smith,  James  Guy,  Peter  Lines.  Truro:  Co. 
C,  Charles  Goth,  Joseph  W.  Hawman,  Edward  A.  Wilson.  Dennis:  Co. 
C,  Henry  Haase;  Co.  D,  Thomas  Jones;  Co.  K,  Charles  Johnson, 
Henry  Peel,  Andrew  Robertson,  trans,  to  navy;  Co.  L,  Michael  Cur- 
ran;  unassigned,  James  Gafney,  John  Mason,  Wilhelm  Jones.  Or- 
leans: Co.  C,  Dean  B.  Nickerson,  Frederick  Wells,  V.  R.  C;  William 
Winslow.  Yarmouth:  Co.  C,  George  J.  Pack,  died  Danville,  Va., 
March,  '65;  John  Slemp.  Brewster:  Co.  C,  Henry  Smith;  Co.  L,  Dan- 
iel McDonald;  unassigned,  John  Cleghorn,  John  Hammett,  Henry 
O'Neil.  Falmouth:  Co.  C,  William  H.  Bruce,  serg.;  unassigned,  Jules 
Gautier.     Wellfleet:  Co.  G,  Daniel  M.  Hall,  died  at  Florence,  Aug.,  '64; 


96  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

unassigned,  John  Bamberg,  Peter  Hotz.  Barnstable:  Co.  D,  William 
Emerson,  Patrick  H.  O'Brien,  John  Smith,  Nelson  H.  Willard.  Sand- 
wich: Co.  I,  William  H.  Morgan,  died  of  wounds,  Sept.,  '64;  unas- 
signed, Alfred  Bolander,  James  Brown,  William  Brown,  John  Forrey, 
trans,  navy;  William  Long,  to  navy;  Francis  McKowan,  William  Pa- 
gan, Joseph  Smith,  trans,  navy;  Charles  Wilson,  trans,  to  navy.  Har- 
wich: Unassigned,  Alfred  Balater,  Charles  Davis.  Chatham:  Frank  J. 
Jones.  Eastham:  John  Banks,  Albert  Granville,  John  B.  McLane, 
trans,  to  navy;  Henry  Roberts. 

Third  Regiment,  mustered  1862-1864.—  Truro:  Hezekiah  P.  Hughes, 
2d  lieut.;  James  A.  Small,  serg.  maj.;  Co.  I,  Samuel  Knowles,  corp,; 
Thomas  Lowe.  Sandwich:  William  H.  Harper,  capt.;  Hartwell  W. 
Freeman,  2d  lieut.;  Co.  D,  Harry  N.  Arnold,  Henry  Scandall;  Co.  E, 
Cornelius  Dean,  Edward  Hefiferman,  killed  at  Fisher's  Hill,  Feb.,  '64; 
Thomas  Mason,  James  McKowen,  prisoner  of  war;  James  McNulty 
2d;  Co.  L,  Angus  McGinnis;  unassigned,  Richard  Cole,  Charles 
Curtis,  trans,  to  navy;  John  Fortune,  Thomas  Harding,  trans,  to  navy; 
Charles  P.  Temple,  Henry  E.  Van  Howarton,  John  Wagner,  to  navy. 
Provincetown:  Co.  A,  Raymond  Ellerington,  1st  lieut.;  George  Allen,  2d 
lieut;  William  Sullivan,  Corp.;  James  Cashman,  David  Cook,  Franklin 
Fine,  Charles  H.  Marston,  Dennis  Seannell;  Co.  B,  John  Connelly, 
Corp.;  Paran  C.  Young;  Co.  I,  William  R.  Carnes,  Thomas  J.  Gibbons, 
died  at  Port  Hudson,  Nov.,  '63;  James  Rivett;  unassigned,  Justice 
Doane,  George  V.  Williams.  Barnstable:  Co.  A,  Robert  Gordon;  Co. 
C,  Andrew  P.  Cobb,  died  at  Sabine  Pass,  Jan.,  '63:  James  K.  Ewer,  V. 
R.  C;  Levi  White;  Yartnouih:  Co.  A.  Henry  Gothard;  Co.  D,  Ed- 
ward Cummins;  Co.  M,  David  Sloan,  John  Locke;  unassigned,  Nich- 
olas Maxwell,  trans,  to  navy;  Thomas  Smith.  Dennis:  Co.  B,  Owen 
Carroll;  Co.  H,  James  Hickey;  unassigned,  John  Kelso,  George 
King,  John  Schmidt.  Falmouth:  Co.  D,  Cornelius  O'Hearn;  Co.  H, 
Heni-y  J.  Besse,  died  at  New  Orleans,  Aug.,  '64.  Wellfleet:  Co.  L  John 
Bennis,  John  Brimmen,  to  Co.  A;  Russell  W.  Gifford;  unassigned, 
George  W.  Douglass,  Cornelius  Kiley,  Charles  Lavelle,  Joseph 
Schwartz,  John  Wright.  Orleans:  Unassigned,  Charles  Baker,  Albert 
J.  Banks,  Thomas  Clark,  John  Ford,  Henry  Forest,  George  Selby. 

Fourth  Regiment,  Wo\.— Harwich:  Co.  A,  Henry  Eldridge,  corp.; 
Joseph  Frost,  serg.;  Thomas  Scott,  Eustace  Smith;  Co.  B,  John  A. 
Hayes,  Thomas  Sheridan.  Falmouth:  Co.  A,  John  R.  Sweetland;  Co. 
E,  Samuel  Jessuron;  Co.  H.  Patrick  Coakley,  George  Smith,  Peter 
Johnson,  George  Kane,  John  Francis,  Thomas  Thibbs,  William  Fos- 
ter, James  A.  Wallace.  Orleans:  Co.  A,  Webster  Rogers,  John  W. 
Walker,  died  Hilton  Head,  July,  '64;  Co.  K,  Charles  Stuart.  Province- 
town:  Co.  A,  John  C.  Singer,  Cornelius  McNamara.  Dennis:  Co.  G, 
James  Crogan;     Co.  M,  George  Avery.     Wellfleet:  Co.  D,  Henry  Hayes, 


MILITARY    HISTORY.  97 

Michael  Cregan;  Co.  H,  James  Booth,  Francis  Daval.  Samuel  F.  Ma- 
son, George  Meyer;  Co.  L,  Henry  R.  Cook,  William  Johnson;  un- 
assigned,  John  W.  Clark.  Barnstable:  Co.  F,  Robert  P.  Stewart,  serg.; 
Co.  G,  Charles  Hinton,  Alexander  Lucia;  Co.  K,  John  Lang;  unas- 
signed,  Jacob  Doolittle.  Sandwich:  Co.  G,  Alonzo  B.  Poor;  Co.  K, 
William  W.  Phinney,  serg.;  Co.  L,  Solomon  H.  Jones,  Ettien  Morien, 
Zeno  Whiting;  unassigned,  James  H.  Holemon.  Yarmouth:  Co.  G, 
Abner  Williams,  Cyrus  L.  Williams;  Co.  H,  Richard  Massey,  John 
Smith;  Co.  M,  Charles  H.  Lee.  Chatham:  Co.  H,  John  Crawford;  Co. 
L,  Cain  Mahoney;  Co.  M,  James  De  Wolver,  corp.;  Christian  Boost. 
Truro:  Co.  G.  Walter  A.  Cook.  .. 

Fifth  Regiment,  18M.—Provincetown:  Co.  A,  Aaron  J.  Moore,  serg.; 
died  at  New  Orleans,  Sept.,  '65;  John  Franks,  corp.;  William  Gardner, 
Charles  Stuart;  Co.  B,, Frank  Manuel;  Co.  G,  Charles  Heatley,  died 
Fortress  Monroe,  July,  '65;  Co.  H,  Charles  Williams;  Co.  M,  Joshua 
Hunt.  Harwich:  Co.  A,  John  S.  Matthews;  Co.  L,  George  Lyons. 
Barnstable:  Co.  B,  John  Alden,  Clark  H.  Northup,  David  R.  Northup, 
Co.  E,  Pardon  K.  Parker.  George  W.  Wilson;  Co.  K,  James  Harris; 
Co.  L,  William  Taylor;  Co.  K,  James  Camrel,  serg.  Wellfleet:  Co.  L, 
John  Connor;  Co.  C,  John  Green;  Co.  G,  John  H.  Mason.  Dennis: 
Co.  D,  John  Collamore,  William  Jones,  Zachariah  Rogers.  Falmouth: 
Co.  E,  George  C.  Warren„  corp.;  John  Homager,  James  G.  Mason. 
Sandwich:  Co.  F,  Charles  Riley;  Co.  G,  Richard  Colwell;  Co.  H,  Wil- 
liam Brewster,  William  Brooks,  accidentally  shot  March,  '65.;  Co.  L, 
Turner  Richardson;  unassigned,  Robert  Lee.  Orleans:  Co.  H,  John 
Boggs,  Frederick  Collins,  Levi  Jackson,  William  St.  John;  Co.  I,  Nel- 
son Merideth,  Barney  O'Brien,  Frank  Thornton,  William  Thomas. 
Henry  Tillman.  Falmouth:  E.  J.  Woods.  Yarmouth:  Co.  H,  James 
Carter;  Co.  I,  John  Hawley,  John  Sweeney.  Brewster:  Co.  L  James  F. 
Oliver.     Eastham:  Co.  K,  Ira  Smith. 

INFANTRY. 

First  Regiment,  \mi..— Sandwich:  Co.  C,  Thomas  Ball,  dis.;  Co.  H, 
James  GafiFney,  dis.  Barnstable:  Unassigned,  George  Adams,  Charles 
Brown,  Peter  Conley,  Thomas  Cramer,  John  Dorcey,  Patrick  Finnan, 
John  Lee,  John  Morris,  trans,  to  Eleventh;  John  M.  Reed,  Samuel 
Roche,  Christopher  Voux,  James  L.  Wood. 

Second  Regiment.  \%&\.r— Wellfleet:  Co.  A,  Joseph  Kratt,  John 
Moore;  Co.  B,  John  Kaumm,  Henry  Miller;  Co.  D,  Daniel  Daley, 
transferred;  Co.  E,  John  Ford;  Co.  G,  Edward  Carrick,  Charles 
Foley,  James  Herrick;  Co.  H,  James  Short;  unassigned,  Bernhard 
Bears,  James  R.  Boyd.  Eastham:  Co.  D,  Charles  A.  Hatch.  Chatham: 
Co.  E,  Henry  Smith;  Co.  G,' James  Muir,  Matthew  Thompson;  Co.  1, 
Warner  Smith.  Provincetown:  Co.  F,  Thomas  Nangle;  unassigned 
7 


98  HISTORY    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Thomas  Alpin,  Silas  D.  Andrew.  Brewster:  Co.  G,  Charles  Dilling- 
ham, died  of  wounds;  Hans  Anderson,  trans,  navy.  Sandwich:  Co.  G, 
George  McNamara.  Unassigned:  Provincetowti:  Thomas  Brennan, 
James  Deay,  Robert  Kelley,  William  Stewart,  Lewis  Wright.  Well- 
fleet:  Henry  C.  Brownson,  John  L.  Carpenter,  Thomas  Clark,  John 
Cole,  Thomas  Day,  Robert  Dennis,  John  Earle,  William  McCluskey, 
Bernard  McKenty,  John  Murphy,  George  Peck,  John  Spencer,  John 
Stewart,  John  Sullivan,  Thomas  Wallace,  James  Welch,  John  Wilson. 
Sandwich:  Albion  Clark,  trans,  to  navy;  James  Collins,  Eugene  Mailey, 
Charles  Newins,  trans,  to  navy;  Henry  Stephens,  Charles  Williams, 
trans,  to  navy;  George  Williams,  Henry  Wohlert.  Brewster:  Henry 
Peters.     Chatham:  Henry  D.  Phettiplace,  William  Williams. 

Ninth  ^G%xm&n\..—  Wellflcet:  Co.  A,  Hugh  Slaven,  killed  May,  "64. 
Barnstable:  Co.  B,  Jacob  Hall.  Dennis:  Co.  3,  Martin  Kelly,  James 
McCoy;  Co.  E,  Thomas  J.  Connor.  Sandxvich:  Co.  C.  James  Kelly,  to 
V.  R.  C;   Co.  D,  William  Cleveland. 

Eleventh  Regiment,  made  up  enlistments  of  the  years  1861-1864.— 
Sandwich:  Co.  A,  George  W.  Reardon,  serg.;  unassigned,  William 
Lewis,  trans,  navy.  Brewster:  Co.  A,  John  Maier.  Truro:  Co.  A, 
Thomas  Martin;  Co.  E,  Francis  Cummings,  died;  Co.  F,  John  Con- 
nors, Hugh  McDonald,  Michael  Sullivan;  Co.  G,  Morris  Walsh.  Den- 
nis: Co.  A,  John  Wagner.  Barnstable:  Co.  B,  James  Brady;  Co.  F, 
Enoch  Crocker,  killed  July,  '61;  Co.  H,  James  Reid;  Co.  K,  Richard 
Roach.  Provincetown:  Co.  C,  James  H.  Griffin.  Wellfleet:  Co.  C,  Lewis 
Johnson,  killed  Sept.,  '64;  Co.  H,  Thomas  Laws,  corp.;  William  Ander- 
son, Julius  Barman,  Charles  Brown;  Co.  K,  Charles  Brooker;  unas- 
signed. Job  Ireland,  Elisha  E.  Myers,  Peter  Schneider.  Eastham:  Henry 
CoUagan,  trans,  to  navy. 

Twelfth  Regiment,  1863.— ZJf www.-  Co.  A,  Thomas  Anderson,  trans, 
to  navy.  Barnstable:  Co.  A,  Samuel  C.  Bowen,  died  Oct.,  '64;  Co.  G, 
Michael  Lynch;  unclassified,  Thomas  F.  Crocker.  Chatham:  Co.  A, 
William  Braddock;  Co.  H,  Josiah  C.  Freeman,  trans,  to  navy;  William 
Smith.  Orleans:  Co.  A,  John  Cabe.  Wellfleet:  Co.  A,  Washington 
Reed,  trans,  to  Thirty-ninth;  Co.  K,  William  N.  Atwood.  Province- 
town:  Co.  D,  Michael  Ragan,  trans,  to  Thirty-ninth;  Co.  E,  Henry  A. 
F.  Smith,  killed  June,  '64;  Co.  H,  Thomas  O.  Sullivan,  to  Thirty-ninth; 
Charles  Uhlich,  to  Thirty-ninth;  Co.  L  James  Munroe,  to  Thirty-second. 
Breii'ster:  Co.  E,  John  Cotter,  trans,  to  Thirty-ninth.  Truro:  Co.  H, 
Francis  Trainor;  Co.  K,  Patrick  Conway. 

Thirteenth  Regiment,  1863. —  Truro:  Co.  A,  John  Francis,  trans, 
navy;  Co.  B,  James  Cushman;  Co.  I,  Frank  Oakley,  to  Thirty-ninth, 
unassigned,  John  Williams.  2d.  Yarmouth:  Co.  A,  George  Happleton, 
trans,  to  navy;  Co.  E,  Charles  Forrest; 'Co.  H,  Manuel  Silver;  Co.  I, 
Isaac  B.  Crowell.  killed  at  Bull  Run,  '62.     Provincetown:   Co.  B,  John 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  99 

Allcock;  Co.  K,  John  Rogers.  Barnstable:  Co.  B,  John  J.  Gibson, 
trans,  to  navy;  Co.  I,  Albert  F.  Holmes,  Davis  P.  Howard.  Chatham: 
Co.  C,  William  H.  Jones,  trans,  to  Thirty-second;  Co.  H,  Lewis  Uhl- 
rich,  stayed  twenty  days;  unassigned,  James  Tomlin.  Eastham: 
Co.  C,  George  Brown,  to  Thirty-ninth;  unassigned,  Edward  Young. 
Falmouth:  Co.  D,  John  Brown,  James  Clemmens,  trans,  to  Thirty-ninth; 
Co.  I,  John  Riley,  2d,  trans,  to  Thirty-ninth.  Dennis:  Co.  C,  William 
Case  (or  Chase),  trans,  to  Thirty-second;  Co.  G,  Charles  Makill,  trans, 
to  Thirty-ninth;  Co.  H,  Henry  Johnson,  trans,  to  navy.  Harwich: 
Co.  D,  John  Hughes.     Orleans:  Unassigned,  Jacob  Reactor. 

Fifteenth  Regiment,  \m^.— Harwich:  Co.  A,  Charles  Ackerman, 
trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  F.  Albert  H.  Lawrence;  Co.  G,Herman  Maier, 
trans,  to  Twentieth.  Yarmouth:  Co.  A,  George  Brown;  Co.  D,  Wil- 
liam Finch,  died  March,  '64;  Co.  F,  Richard  Layton,  trans,  to  navy; 
Co.  I,  Charles  W.  Bean,  William  M.  Triscott,  trans,  to  Twentieth; 
Co.  K,  Oscar  S.  Perry,  trans,  to  Twentieth.  Provincetown:  Co.  A, 
William  Bruce;  Co.  C,  Peter  Donnelly.  Sandivich:  Co.  A,  Wil- 
liam R.  Bryne;  Co.  C,  John  Donaldson;  Co.  H,  Charles  Raphael, 
trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  K,  John  Warner,  trans,  to  navy;  unassigned, 
John  McCully,  trans,  to  Twentieth.  Eastham:  Co.  B,  Henry  Contz. 
Dennis;:  Co.C,  Charles  Campbell;  Co.  G,  Patrick  Murphy.  Orleans:  Co. 
C,  John  H.  Cowan,  died  from  wounds  May,  '64.  Chatham:  Co.  C,  Peter 
Dawson,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  K,  William  Tell,  to  Twentieth. 
Barnstable:  Co.  C,  George  S.  Demier.  Falmouth:  Co.  C,  John  H. 
Diamond,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  E,  Charles  Hubbard.  Wellfleet: 
Co.  F,  Henry  Mack;  unassigned,  James  McCauley. 

•  Sixteenth  Regiment,  \^Q^.— Provincetown:  Co.  D,  James  Dunn. 
Dennis:  Co.  D,  Thomas  Swaney.  Wellfleet:  Co.  I,  Michael  Jeff,  died  at 
Andersonville,  Oct.,  '64. 

Seventeenth  Regiment,  1864. — Harwich:  Co.  A,  Jeremiah  B.  Hill; 
Co.  C,  Lewis  J.  Morrill.  Falmouth:  Co.  F,  John  Zahn.  Provincetown: 
Co.  G,  Orrin  L.  Torger.     Breivster:  Co.  H.  John  Wall. 

Eighteenth  Regiment,  \9,^%.— Orleans:  Co.  A,  Michael  Riley;  Co. 
K,  James  W.  Gates,  trans,  to  Thirty-second.  Barristable:  Co.  B,  Frank 
Curtis.  Truro:  Co.  B,  Joseph  Sullivan.  Sandwich:  Co.  C,  Persia  B. 
Hammond.  Dennis:  Co.  D,  Richard  Williams,  trans,  to  Thirty-second. 
Provincetown:  Co.  G,  Julius  Shall,  trans,  to  Thirty-second.  Chatham: 
Co.  H,  Charles  H.  Lyman.  Brewster:  Co.  K,  John  Flaherty;  unas- 
signed, William  Holland. 

Nineteenth  Regiment,  1861-1864.— Co.  A,  J.  Frederick  Aytoun, 
sergeant.  Provincctoivn:  Co.  A,  John  T.  Small,  1st  lieut.;  Co.  D, 
William  McDougal;  Co.  H.  Edward  Gallagher,  Augfust  Mengin. 
Wellfleet:  Co.  C,  Joseph  Fry,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  E,  James  M.  Harrison, 
trans,  to  Twentieth;    Co.  F.  Charles  Leverence;    Co.  H,  John  Newer, 


100  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

trans,  to  Twentieth.  Truro:  Co.  A,  Charles  A.  Brown,  trans,  to  Twen' 
tieth;  Co.  F,  John  Mack,  trans,  to  Twentieth.  Barnstable:  Co.  A, 
Daniel  Burns,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  E,  Frederick  Jackson,  Robert 
P.  Pike,  killed  Feb.,  '65;  Co.  F,  Thomas  Maher,  corp.;  Frank  Lopez, 
trans,  to  Twentieth;  Edward  Mulally,  V.  R.  C;  Co.  H,  John  Boing. 
unassigned,  Patrick  O'Neill,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Charles  Wilson. 
Brewster:  Co.  A,  Michael  S.  Burke,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Robert  A. 
Johnston,  died  at  Andersonville,  Aug.,  '64;  Co.  E,  Howard  Lee;  Co. 
G,  James  Henry;    Co.  \,  Charles  H.  Porter,  William  Smith,  Edward 

A.  Ballou.     Sandwich:  Co.  A,  George  Collins,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co. 

B,  Edward  A.  Dillon,  corp.,  trans,  to  Twentieth.  Dennis:  Co.  A,  Charles 
Trapp,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  B,  William  Dow;  Co.  C,  James  T. 
Beleer,  George  B.  Bradley,  Thomas  A.  Dow,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co. 
K,  Michael  Smith;  unassigned,  Thomas  O'Connor.  Harxvich:  Co. 
B,  William  McGinnis;  Co.  D,  Charles  Ferguson,  trans,  to  Twentieth; 
Co.  E,  John  McAnally;  Co.  F,  Philip  Morton,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co. 
G,  John  McCue;  unassigned,  Henry  Edwards,  Edmund  Graham.  Chat- 
ham: Co;  C,  William  Barnes,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Tanjoure  Trelawney, 
Simeon  Tuttle;  Co.  F,  John  Anderson;  Co.  I,  James  Riley;  unassigned, 
John  Tuttle.  Falmouth:  Co.  D,  William  Hamilton,  trans,  to  Twen- 
tieth; Co.  E,  Nathan  B.  Jenkins,  died  Dec,  '63;  Co.  F,  Benjamin  E. 
Fogg,  serg.;  William  Marshall.  Eastham:  Co.  G,  Albert  Donavan. 
Orleans:  Co.  E,  Bernard  Bertrand,  Reynolds  Montobang,  Henry  G. 
Perry;  unassigned,  Peter  Doland,  William  Smith.  Yarmouth:  Co.  E, 
Patrick  Gillespie;  unassigned,  Charles  Burnes,  Alexander  Howard. 

Twentieth  Regiment,  1862-1864.— //arze/iVr/t.-  Co.  A,  Martin  A.  Bum- 
pus,  George  H.  Robbins;  Co.  H,  Philip  Morton;  Co.  I,  Joseph  Wilkin- 
son; unassigned,  Elbridge   Axtell,  Henry  Taylor.      Chatham:  Co.  A 
George  Foster;  Co.  D,  William  Barnes.     Truro:  Co.  A,  William  Gib 
bon;  Co.  B,  William  P.  Miller,  John  Davis,  trans,  to  navy;  Co.  H,  Ed 
ward  Winslow,  died  of  wounds,  Dec,  '62;  Co.  I,  Henry  Bolminster, 
Dennis:  Co.  A.  John  Quinland;  Co.  H,  Albert  Paflfrath.  killed  June,  '64 
Falmouth:  Co.  A,  Adrian  Spear;  unassigned,  James  Green.     Sandwich: 
Co.  B,  Frank  B.  Hall,  James   Harrington;  Co.  C,  George  Gatzens;  Co, 
F,  Elisha   M.  Lord;  Co.  H,  Andrew  J.  Lane,  John  McDonald,  John 
Wood:  Co.  I,  Thomas  Hollis,  serg.;  Benjamin  Davis,  killed  Oct., '61 
Thomas  Davis,  Peter  McKenna,  Terrence  Murphy,  V.  R.  C;  Stephen 
Weeks,  Ezekiel  L.  Woodward,  killed  Dec,  '62;  unassigned,  John  Grif- 
fith, David  Kenney,  Thomas  McCarty,  Stephen  Semes.  Shadrach  F. 
Swift.      Eastham:  Co.  D,  James  L.  Chalmer.     Brewster:  Co.  D,  Charles 
H.  Denton.     Wellfleet:  Co.  D,  Charles  Stanwood;   Co.  F,  Edward   H. 
Freudenberg.     Barnstable:  Co.   E,  James  B.  Wilson,  killed  May,  '64; 
Co.  F,  Robert  Williams;  Co.  H,  John  Neary,  Adolph  Otto;  Co.  K,  Wil- 
liam   Carney;   unassigned,   John   Lang.     Yarmouth:  Co.    K,   George 


MILITARY    HISTORY.  101 

Chase.  Provincetown:  Co.  K,  Thomas  Cunningham.  Orleans:  Un- 
assigned,  James  W.  Bowman,  Charles  D.  Hall,  James  Healey,  Hugh 
Quinn,  George  Ross. 

Twenty-second  Regiment,  1861-1864.- — Dennis:  Co.  B,  John  Fran- 
cisco, trans,  navy;  Peter  Martin,  to  navy;  Joseph  Ruse,  to  navy;  John 
Colfer.  Chathatn:  Co.  C,  Timothy  Bulkley,  trans,  to  Thirty-second. 
Falmouth:  Co.  C,  James  H.  Lashure.  Barnstable:  Co.  C,  Henry  McKeon, 
trans,  to  Thirty-second;  John  Williams,  to  Thirty-second.  Brewster: 
Co.  C,  Richard  Ryon,  trans,  to  Thirty-second.  Harwich:  Co.  D,  John 
Sullivan,  to  Thirty-second;  Co.  G,  William  E.  Bliss,  to  Thirty-second; 
Thomas  Green,  Thomas  H.  Frampton,  died  of  wounds,  June,  '64. 
Sandwich:  Co.  K,  Franklin  R.  J.  Clark,  William  F.  Clark;  Co.  E,  Ed- 
ward W.  Holway,  to  Thirty-second.  Truro:  Co.  E,  James  Fitzpatrick, 
trans,  to  Thirty-second. 

Twenty-third  Regiment,  \%%\-\%M.—Bar7istable:  Co.  D,  James  H. 
Ayer.  Sandwich:  Co.  F,  Charles  Dudley.  Brewster:  Co.  G,  Burgess 
Bassett,  Thaddeus  Bassett,  Henry  Callahan,  Isaac  Freeman.  Chatham: 
Co.  H,  John  McCluskey,  died  at  City  Point,  1864. 

Twenty-fourth  Regiment,  \mi-'i^QA.— Sandwich:  Co.  A,  Jesse  H. 
Allen,  Benjamin  Ewer,  John  F.  Fish,  died  home  Oct.,  '62;  Philip  J. 
Riley;  Co.  B,  Phineas  Gibbs;  Co.  D,  Elisha  H.  Burgess,  corp.;  Co.  H, 
James  Dalton.  Barnstable:  Co.  A,  Erastus  Baker;  Co.  C,  John  McFar- 
lane;  Co.  I,  Lemuel  S.  Jones,  corp.:  James  H.  Jones,  re-enlisted; 
Thomas  W.  Jones,  re-enlisted;  James  Stevens.  Dennis:  Co.  A,William 
Page.  Falmouth:  Co.  B,  Joseph  H.  Swift;  Co.  E,  William  S.  Washburn; 
Co.  F,  Charles  H.  Roberts.  Orleans:  Co.  C,  Lewis  Sanacal;  Co.  F,  Al- 
fred Knowles,  serg.,  2d  lieut.  Fifty-fourth;  Clement  Gould,  Joshua 
Gould,  died  in  Boston,  '64;  Co.  K,  Bangs  Taylor.  Harwich:  Co.  D, 
Frank  Barnes,  George  W.  Wartrous;  same  given  for  Yarmouth;  Co. 
H,  Joseph  C.  Chase,  re-enlisted  in  '64.  Yarmouth:  Co.  D,  Albert  Taylor. 
Brewster:  Co.  D,  Andrew  J.  Winn.  Truro:  Co.  F,  Jesse  Pendergast, 
Corp.;  Shubael  A.  Snow.  Chatham:  Co.  G,  Albert  P.  Wilkinson.  East- 
hatn:  Co.  K,  James  W.  Smith,  died  at  Newbem,  '62.  Wellfleet:  Co.  L 
William  Cross. 

Twenty-sixth  Regiment,  1864. — Barnstable:  Co.  A,  John  Burke;  Co. 
G,  Humphrey  Sullivan,  corp.  Provincetown:  Co.  K,  Joseph  Prestello, 
re-enlisted  and  killed  at  Winchester;  Joseph  Fowler,  William  Frazer. 
Brewster:  Co.  G,  William  Borden,  died  at  New  Orleans. 

Twenty-eighth  Regiment,  1864. — Sandwich:  In  band,  Michael  Ball; 
Co.  B,  George  Waltern;  Co.  C,  John  McCabe,  Thomas  Wheeler,  killed 
at  Bull  Run;  Co.  D,  Louis  P.  Paganuzzi,  Bernard  Woods;  Co.  H,  John 
Score,  died  of  wounds;  Charles  Bolton,  to  navy;  unassigned,  Marcena 
Ernest,  Cheserg  Jean,  Thomas  McMar-as.  Falmouth:  Co.  A,  Adolph 
Arm,  died   in  prison   Nov.,  '64;  Co.  D,  James  Green,  John  Higgins. 


102  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Brewster:  Co.  A,  Abraham  Berry,  Benjamin  Henshaw.  to  navy;  John 
Schules,  to  navy.  Eastham:  Co.  A,  Otto  Brown;  Co.  G,  Charles  O'Toole, 
killed  at  Spottsylvania, '64;  John  Lester.  Dennis:  Co.  A,  Henry  Clark, 
Edward  Lunt,  wounded;  Co.  C,  William  H.  Branch;  Co.  D,  Daniel 
McDonald,  William  B.  Riber;  Co.  E,  Robert  Lynch;  Co.  L  Martin 
Schwytz;  unassigned,  Thomas  Burnie,  John  Swanson,  to  navy.  Har- 
wich:  Co.  B,  Thomas  Campbell,  killed  at  Locust  Grove,  '64.  Barnsta- 
ble: Co.  C,  Ezra  C.  Baker;  Co.  F,  Charles  Miller.  Truro:  Co.  D,  Andrew 
Jemmson,  trans.  V.  R.C.  Yarmouth:  Co.  E,  Michael  Collins.  Orleans: 
Michael  O'Mara.  Wellfleet:  Unassigned,  Charles  S.  Hurd,  L.  G.  Pet- 
erson, sent  to  navy;  Pierre  St.  Souver. 

Twenty-ninth  Regiment,  \^^\-\%M.—Sand%vick:  Charles  Chipman, 
as  captain,  and  made  major,  died  of  wounds,  Aug.,  '64;  Charles  Brady 
as  lieut.,  and  made  captain;  Henry  A.  Kern,  and  James  H.  Atherton, 
2d  lieuts.;  Joseph  J.C.  Madigan,  1st  lieut.;  Thomas  F.  Darby,  2d  lieut.; 
George  E.  Crocker,  mus.;  Co.  A,  Albert  N.  Morin,  serg.;  Co.  D.  David 
A.  Hoxie,  serg.;  Edward  Brady,  serg.;  William  H.  Woodward,  serg.; 
William  Breese,  corp.;  George  F.  Bruce,  corp.,  hos.  steward;  Benjamin 
H.  Hamblin,  corp.;  Christopher  B.  Dalton,  mus.;  George  W.  Badger, 
G.  A.  Badger,  James  Ball,  re-enlisted;  Frank  G.  Bumpus,  John 
Campbell,  Alfred  Cheval,  Patrick  C.  Clancy,  John  T.  Collins,  pro- 
moted;  James  Cook;  James  Cox,  Timothy  Dean,  Warren  F.  Dean, 
Edward  Donnelly,  Joseph  W.  Eaton,  Perez  Eldredge,  re-enlisted; 
John  Fagan,  Benjamin  Fuller,  James  Guiney,  James  G.  B.  Hayes,  died 
home  July,  '62;  Allen  P.  Hathaway,  Charles  Harkins.  Samuel  N.  Has- 
kins,  James  H.  Heald,  died  at  Annapolis,  Oct.,  '62;  Michael  Heslin, 
Charles  H.  Hoxie,  Zenas  H.  Hoxie,  Samuel  W.  Hunt,  Charles  E.  Jones, 
accidentally  killed  Feb.,  '62;  Martin  L.  Kern,  jr.,  Patrick  Long,  died; 
John  McAlney,  William  McDermott,  Patrick  McElroy,  Michael 
McKenna,  Peter  McNulty,  Isaac  H.  Phinney,  Caleb  T.  Robbins,  Peter 
Russell,  Philip  Russell,  William  J.  Smith,  Freeman  C.  Swift,  Joseph 
Turner,  James  Ward,  killed  May,  '64;  John  Weeks,  died  at  Newport 
News,  '62;  Francis  Woods,  James  H.  Woods,  John  Woods,  William 
H.  Woods,  died  at  Newport  News,  Jan.,  '62;  Charles  S.  Wright;  Co.  G, 
W.  H.  Perry,  re-enlisted  '64;  Co.  H,  John  Fogg.  Eastham:  Co.  B, 
Reuben  Smith.  Brewster:  Co.  C,  Bernard  Corkery,  corp.  Barnstable: 
Co.  D,  David  B.  Coleman,  corp.;  Nathaniel  C.  Ford,  David  A.  Hoxie. 
Co._H,  Henry  A.  Glines,  killed  at  Petersburg,  Sept.,  '64.  Truro:  Co.  F, 
Alfred  Lunda.  Dennis:  Co.  G,  John  Easey.  Yarmouth:  Thomas 
Evans. 

Thirtieth  Regiment,  \m\-\mA.—Bar?istable:  Co.  I,  Hiram  B.Ellis, 
serg.;  Jonathan  Burt,  corp.,  died  at  Baton  Rouge,  June,  '62;  Thomas 
Taylor,  re-enlisted.  Falmouth:-  Co.  A,  Braddock  R.  Chase,  died  at  Ship 
Island,  May,  '62.     Brezvster:  Co.  B,  Addison  F.  Brown.     Provincetown: 


.   MILITARY    HISTORY.  103 

Co.  F,  Timothy  Sweeney.  Chatham:  Unassigned,  Enoch  Hanson,  Ed- 
ward Hewitt.     Harwich:  Co.  K,  Ira  Nickersqn,  in  the  Thirty-first. 

Thirty-second  Regiment,  1861-1864.— 7>«r^.-  Co.  A,  Elkanah  Paine, 
Corp.;  Co.  H,  Anderson  Rivers.  Provincetown:  Co.  A,  Henry  Foster, 
died  in  Virginia,  Dec,  '63.     Wellfleet:  Co.  B,  Geovanni  M.  Podesta;  Co. 

C,  William  W.  Smith.  Harwich:  Co.  D,  Michael  Barry;  Co.  G,  James 
Brannan;  Co.  H,  Augustine  Phillips;  Co.  M,  William  E.  Bills.  Yar- 
?nouth:  Co.  D,  Hezekiah  Corliss;  Co.  I,  John  Toole.  Orleans:  Co.  D, 
Carl.  A.  A.  Forde,  Andrew  Thompson.  Dennis:  Co.  D,  David  Nicker- 
son;  Co.  I,  Charles  Makill,  William  Branch,  trans,  to  Twenty-eighth. 
Barnstable:  Co.  H,  George  Brown.     Chathatn:  Co.  I,  Henry  Bridge. 

Thirty-third  Regiment,  1862-1864.— C/^rt/^zw.-  Co.  A,  William 
White;  Co.  F,  William  Taylor.  Provincetown:  Co.  A,  Matthew  Cava- 
naugh.  Dennis:  Co.  C,  Henry  H.  Fish.  Wellfleet:  Co.  E,  James  How- 
ard,  Edward  Quinlan;  Co.  G,  William  Anderson,  trans,  to  Second;  Co. 
I,  Thomas  Smith;  unassigned,  James  Moran.  Brewster:  Co.  I,  John  J. 
Ryder,  corp.;  Alfred  J.  Twiss,  trans.  Orleans:  Co.  I,  Thadeus  C.  Baker, 
Corp.;  Bangs  S.  Baker,  Thomas  Clark,  Thomas  Dolan,  John  M.  Hamil- 
ton, Thomas  J.  Monticello,  James  E.  Studley,  died  at  Alexandria, 
March,  '64.  Eastham:  Co.  I,  Nathan  A.  Gill,  Peter  Higgins,  Henry  T. 
Morrison,  died  of  wounds  May,  '64;  Francis  W.  Penniman,  died  of 
wounds  July,  '64.  Sandwich:  Co.  I,  William  P.  Kelley,  wounded.  Fal- 
mouth: Co.  K,  Alvin  N.  Fisher,  died  wounds  May,  '64;  Rufus  F.  Fisher, 
killed  at  Lxjokout  Mountain,  Oct.  '63.  Harwich:  Co.  K,  John  C.  Mum- 
ford. 

Thirty-fifth  Regiment,  \m2-\BQi:.—  Harwich:  George  N.  Munsell, 
asst.  surg;  Co.  A,  Jeremiah  Heylingburg,  Gilman  Hook  Brewster: 
Co.  A,  Hiram  L.  Eastman;  Co.  C,  Bernard  Corkery,  transferred  to 
Twenty-ninth.     Barnstable:  Co.  C,  Andrew  B.  Gardner.     Chatham:  Co. 

D,  James  Hambly,  trans,  to  Twenty-ninth.  Sandwich:  John  Mc- 
Namara.  Henry  White  of  Falmouth  was  in  the  Thirty-sixth  Regi- 
ment. 

Thirty-eighth  Regiment,  1864. — Falmouth:  Elijah  Swift,  1st  lieut.; 
James  M.  Davies,  com.  serg.;  Co.  H,  James  N.  Parker,  serg.;  William 
H.  BoUes,  Corp.;  William  E.  Davis,  corp.;  Benjamin  L.  McLane,  corp.; 
Reuben  E.  Phinney,  corp.;  George  W.  Swift,  corp.;  James  H.  Baker, 
Silas  R.  Baker,  Joseph  A.  Chadwick,  Joseph  B.  Crocker,  Andrew  W. 
Davis,  Henry  O.  Davis,  James  M.  Davis,  trans,  to  non-com.  staflF;  John 
W.  Davis,  Leonard  Doty,  Timothy  F.  Doty,  Cornelius  B.  Fish,  George 
W.  Fish,  2d,  died  Aug.,  '63;  Jehiel  Fish,  died  June,  '63;  Perry  W.  Fish, 
Augustus  E.  Fisher,  died  of  wounds,  June,  '63;  Robert  Grew,  Charles 

E,  Hamblin,  Bartlett  Holmes,  jr.,  Ezra  S.  Jones,  died;  Horace  E.  Lewis, 
died;  Walter  T.  Nye,  died.  Brewster:  Co.  E,  James  K.  Ewer,  jr., 
trans,  to  Fortieth.  Wellfleet:  Patrick  O'Neil,  died  1864.  Sandwich: 
Co.  H,  Naaman  H.  Dillingham,  corp. 


104  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Thirty-ninth  Regiment,  1862. — Chatham:  Edward  Beecher  French, 
chap.;  Co.  A.Alvah  Ryder,  corp.;  Benjamin  Batchelder,  wag.,  V.  R.  C; 
J.  N.  Bloomer,  Prince  Eldridge,  jr.,  Jas.  Blanvelt,  Daniel  W.  Ellis, 
William  A.  Gould,  Nathaniel  Smith,  Eric  M.  Snow.  Harwich:  Co.  A, 
Asa  L.  Jones,  serg.,  trans,  as  lieut.  to  U.S.  C.  T.;  Henry  Smalley,  Wil- 
liam Field,  Thomas  E.  Small.  Barnstable:  Unassigned,  George  W. 
Grifl&ns.     Truro:  Frank  Oakley. 

Fortieth  Regiment,  \QQ2.— Barnstable:  Joseph  M.  Day,  capt.,  pro. 
to  major;  James  N.  Howland,  2d  lieut.;  Co.  E,  Noah  Bradford,  1st 
serg.;  William  C.  Gififord,  serg.;  Henry  Goodspeed,  trans,  to  V.  R.  C; 
Eben  N.  Baker,  corp.;  Edwin  W.  Bearse,  corp.;  Cyrus  B.  Fish,  corp.; 
William  D.  Holmes,  corp.;  John  P.  Lothrop,  corp.;  Charles  O.  Adams, 
Josiah  A.  Ames,  Abijah  Baker,  Benjamin  T.  Baker,  Obed  A.  Cahoon, 
died  at  Beaufort,  Nov.,  '63;  Reuben  F.  Childs,  Rudolphus  E.  Childs, 
James  Clagg,  Charles  W.  Crocker,  Isaac  Crocker,  William  Dixon, 
Melville  O.  Dottridge,  Lorenzo  C.  Drury,  Alvin  B.  Felker,  George  G. 
Hallett,  Joseph  H.  Holway,  William  P.  Holmes,  V.  R.  C;  Edward 
Hoxie,  Philip  Hughes,  Leander  .W.  Jones,  Stephen  M.  Jones,  Wil- 
liam S.  Lambert,  Milton  J.  Loring,  Howard  M.  Lovell,  Henry  N.  Ly- 
ons, James  Marchant,  to  V.  R.  C;  Gilbert  C.  Nickerson,  Winsor  Nick- 
erson,  Solomon  Otis,  killed  at  Drury 's  Bluff,  May,  '64;  Samuel  B.  Otis, 
died  at  Beaufort,  Nov.,  '63;  George  Paine,  Nathan  A.  Pitcher,  died  at 
Folly  Island,  Nov.,  '63;  John  Q.  A.  Richardson,  John  G.  Scobie,  V.  R.  C. 
Joseph  C.  Scudder,  Harry  A.  Smith,  V.  R.  C;  James  H.  West,  V.  R.  C; 
John  M.  West,  Artemas  B.  Young.  Yartnouth:  Co.  A,  Roland  Lewis, 
Corp.;  J.  C.  Desilver.  Co.  E,  John  E.  Young,  corp.;  Salmon  C.  Baker, 
Freeman  S.  Cash,  Charles  H.  Chase,  Asa  F.  Crocker,  V.  R.  C;  David 
Crowell,  Timothy  Foley,  William  G.  Harrington,  Benjamin  H. 
Matthews,  George  W.  Ryder.  Dennis:  Co.  A,  Kelley  Chase,  jr.,  died  at 
Portsmouth,  Oct.,  '64;  Cyrus  Hall,  Enoch  F.  Hall,  Russell  S.  Hall, 
John  G.  Raynor.  Brewster:  Co.  A,  Edmund  Crosby,  died  at  Ander- 
sonville,  Sept.,  '64.  Harwich:  Co.  A,  Jonathan  Gifford,  died  at  Ander- 
sonville,  Aug.,  '64.  Co.  B,  Charles  Butler,  Danford  H.  Chase,  V.  R.  C; 
James  Dunn,  V.  R.  C.  Sandwich:  Co.  I,  Patrick  McMahan,  serg.; 
Abraham  Healey,  corp.;  Barzilla  Manamon,  corp.;  Nathan  C.  Perry, 
Corp.;  Rodman  Avery,  Watson  Avery,  died  at  Miner's  Hill,  Sept.,  '62; 
Henry  B.  Baker,  Thomas  Ball,  Luke  P.  Burbank,  Benjamin  F.  Cham- 
berlin,  Abner  Ellis,  Charles  E.  Ellis,  Nathaniel  L.  Ellis,  died  at  Phil., 
July, '64;  Thomas  Ellis,  died  at  Petersburg,  Aug., '64.;  Luther  T.Ham- 
mond, died  at  Beaufort,  Dec,  '63;  James  Harlow,  James  Hathaway, 
V.  R.  C:  John  Huddy,  John  F.  Johnson,  Daniel  V.  Kern,  Edward  J. 
Lawrence,  died  at  Folly  Island,  Nov.,  '63;  Ensign  Lincoln,  Charles  H. 
Little,  George  F.  Lloyd,  David  Magoon,  V.  R.  C;  Seth  T.  Manamon, 
William  Manley,  David  Perry,  jr.,  Henry  Perry,  John  M.  Perry,  Sam- 


MILITARY    HISTORY.  105 

uel  Sampson,  Charles  E.  Swift,  Clark  Swift,  Dean  W.  Swift,  died  of 
wounds;  Francis  H.  Swift,  Williata  H.  Swift,  Willard  Weeks,  died  at 
Fortress  Monroe,  Jan.,  "64;  Samuel  J.  Wood,  died  at  Petersburg, 
Aug.,  '64. 

Fifty-fourth  Regiment,  1863,  \BQA.— Falmouth.— Co.  B,  Robert  H. 
Hurdle,  died  at  Morris  Island,  May,  '64;  Co.  H,  Alfred  F.  Scott,  died 
at  Beaufort,  Feb.,  '64;  Co.  G,  Peter  Smith,  trans,  to  Fifty-fifth.  Barn- 
stable: Co.  D,  Charles  L.  Ellis.  Harwich:  Co.  E,  William  Broadwater. 
Sandwich:  Co.  H,  George  H.  Clark.  Provincetown:  Joseph  Crooks, 
trans,  to  Fifty-fifth.  Eastham:  Co.  I,  John  A.  Green,  trans,  to  Fifty- 
fifth. 

Fifty-sixth  Regiment,  \B,M.— Yarmouth:  Co.  A,  Albert  Moran,  died 
of  wounds  received  May,  '64.  Provincetown:  Co.  A,  James  G.  Stone. 
Co.  E,  James  Drury,  died  at  Millen,  Ga.  Co.  F.  John  Hughes,  corp. 
Co.  G,  Charles  Williams;  Co.  H,  Jesse  Freeman,  jr.,  serg.;  Thomas  V. 
Mullen,  Corp.;  Samuel  G.  Smith,  corp.;  Freeman  A.  Smith,  mus.; 
Michael  Bennett.  Charles  W.  Burkett,  William  H.  Hammond,  Solomon 
R.  Higgins,  died  at  home,  March,  '64;  John  W.  Hoben,  killed  Weldon 
R.  R.,  Sept.,  '64;  Robert  T.  Hooten,  Nathan  S.  Hudson,  Joseph  King, 
died  at  Salisbury,  Nov.,  '64;  John  C.  Lunton,  killed  at  Petersburg, 
July,  '64;  William  Mcintosh,  Michael  A.  Parker,  Samuel  Pettis, 
Reuben  W.  Rich,  Taylor  Small,  jr.,  died  at  Danville,  Va.,  Feb.,  '66; 
John  R.  Smith,  John  E.  Smith,  died  at  Philadelphia,  June,  "64;  Wil- 
liam Soule,  Eliphalet  H.  Weldon.  Eastham:  Co.  C,  George  Broche; 
Co.  D,  Stephen  T.  Foster,  Henry  H.  West.  Barnstable:  Co.  D,  George 
W.  Childs,  died  of  wounds,  June,  '64;  William  A.  McLeod,  John  A. 
Nicholson,  died  of  wounds.  May,  '64;  Co.  H,  John  S.  Lunt;  Co.  I, 
Charles  E.  Miller,  Emil  Tellburn,  killed  at  Petersburg,  July,  '64. 
Wellfleet:  Co.  F,  Charles  Schmidt.  Truro:  Co.  G,  John  Carroll,  serg.; 
Jacob  Rock.  Demiis:  Co.  G,  Ansel  Edmondson,  corp.;  William  Gay, 
Charles  Girard,  John  J.  Mahoney,  Addington  Miall,  Co.  H,  Hugh 
Riley;  Co.  I,  John  Artemas.  Brewster:  Co.  G,  John  Broady.  Sand- 
wich: Co.  K,  John  Murphy,  died  at  home,  March,  '64.  Falmouth:  Co. 
H.,  John  Davis,  corp.;  William  Bates,  to  V.  R.  C;  Edward  Harris, 
James  Hilton. 

Fifty-eighth  Regiment,  1864.— C/zaMaw.-  Charles  M.  Upham,  2d 
lieut.,  pro.  capt.,  killed  Cold  Harbor,  June,  '64;  William  H.  Harley,2d 
lieut.,  pro.  capt.,  killed  Spottsylvania,  May,  '64;  Co.  H,  Horatio  F. 
Lewis,  2d  lieut.;  Franklin  D.  Hammond,  2d  lieut.,  killed  at  Petersburg, 
June,  '64;  Co.  A,  Nathaniel  B.Smith,  serg., killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  June, 
'64;  Francis  Armstrong,  serg.,  died  of  wounds  June,  '64;  Pliny  F.  Free- 
man, serg.;  George  W.  Hamilton,  serg.;  Samuel  Hawes,  jr.,  serg.; 
Aaron  W.  Snow,  serg.;  Charles  B.  Bearse,  John  Bolton,  killed  at  Cold 
Harbor,  June,  '64;    J-oshua   H.  Chase,  Zabina  Dill,  died  at  Anderson- 


106  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

ville,  Aug.,  '64;  Nathan  Eldridge,  killed  at  Spottsylvania,  May,  '64; 
Washington  A.  Eldridge,  Stephen  Ellis,  Harrison  F.  Gould,  Josiah  F. 
Hardy,  Samuel  Harding,  Seth  T.  Howes,  killed  at  Wilderness,  May, 
'64;  Charles  Johnson,  Henry  W.  Mallows,  Charles  Mullett,  Edwin  S. 
Nickerson,  Benjamin  F.  Pease,  Bridgeman  T.  Small,  Albert  E.  Snow, 
V.  R.  C;  Zenas  M.  Snow,  David  G.  Young,  died  in  Virginia,  May,  '64. 
Provincetown:  Albion  M.  Dudley,  pro.  capt.;  Co.  A,  Jeremiah  Bennett, 
killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  June,  '64;  Co.  I,  Albion  N.  Dudley.  Harwich: 
Co.  A,  Heman  Chase,  jr.,  1st  lieut.;  S.  B.  N.  Baker,  made  1st  lieut. 
July,  '65;  Nathan  Downey,  2d  lieut.;  David  Kendrick,  pro.  lieut. 
July,  '65;  Co.  A,  Charles  W.  Hamilton,  Isaac  L.  Kendrick,  David  P. 
Ryder,  corp.;  Albert  F.  Allen,  Benjamin  Bassett,  Benjamin  F.  Bassett, 
died  of  wounds  June,  '64;  W.  H.  H.  Bassett,  died  at  Danville,  Jan.,  '66; 
George  G.  Burgess,  Simeon  Cahoon,died  of  wounds  July,  '64;  Thomas 
G.  Cahoon,  Elijah  Chase,  Francis  L.  Doane,  was  pri.soner;  Solomon  N. 
Doane,  died  at  Andersonville,  Aug.,  '64;  Alpheus  Eldridge,  died  of 
wounds  June,  '64;  Cyrus  Ellis,  2d;  Moses  A.  Handy,  pris.;  Jahiel  Jor- 
don,  died  at  David's  Island,  June,  '64;  Daniel  Lenihan,  Charles  W. 
Nickerson,  George  W.  Nickerson,  Warren  Phillips,  jr.,  Charles  A.  Rob- 
bins,  Ezra  B.  Ryder,  Antonio  Silver,  Asa  Simmons,  Ebenezer  Smalley, 
died  of  wounds  at  home  July,  '64;  Stephen  Smith,  wounded;  George 
S.  Studley,  Charles  Tuttle,  John  B,  Tuttle;  Co.  C,  Everett  W.  Doane, 
killed  at  Petersburg,  April,  '65;  Moses  Doane;  Co.  E,  Jerry  Slattery, 
killed  at  Petersburg,  April, '65;  Co.G,HoraceB.Chase,corp.;  Co.  H,  Wins- 
low  Baker,  died  at  Salisbury,  Dec,  '64;  Joseph  Barstow,  Henry  Brown, 
Joshua  R.  Burgess,  died  at  Salisbury,  Jan.,  '65;  Francis  S.  Cahoon,  Ed- 
ward C.  Chase,  Isaiah  Chase,  2d,  died  at  Alexandria,  June,  '65;  Thomas 
B.  Chase,  Alvah  B.  Crabbe,  died  at  Washington,  June,  '64;  James  B. 
Doane,  V.  R.  C;  Alvan  L.  Drown,  died  at  home  Sept.,  '64;  Jonathan 
Small,  Seth  B.  Wixon;  Co.  I,  Joseph  Loveland;  Co.  K,  Edward  Pender, 
Alexander  Purington;  unassigned,  Andrew  Dolan.  Barnstable:  Co.  K, 
Henry  C.  Blossom,  1st  lieut.;  Co.  A,  James  R.  Blagdon,  died  of  wounds 
in  Virginia,  June,  '64;  George  W.  Cathcart,  Charles  G.  Cook,  died  at 
Andersonville,  Feb., '65;  Eliphalet  Doane,  killed  Petersburg,  June, '64; 
Ebenezer  Eldridge,  killed  at  Spottsylvania,  May,  '64;  Allen  Marchant; 
Co.  C,W.  N.  Baxter,  James  Woodman;  Co.  D,William  A.  McDonald;  Co. 
E,  Thomas  Coleman,  jr.;  Co.  H,  James  Pendergrass,  died  at  Salisbury, 
Dec,  '64;  Timothy  Robbins,  died  at  Salisbury,  Dec,  '64.  Orleans:  Co. 
A,  Samuel  H.  Everett,  corp.;  Co.  F,  Charles  Clark;  Co.  H,  Benjamin 
Taylor;  unassigned,  William  D.  Miles.  Bre-wster:  Co.  A,  Samuel  F. 
Rogers,  corp.;  J.  N.  Allen,  Barnabas  G.  Baker,  died  at  Baltimore,  March, 
'65;  George  S.  Eldridge,  Samuel  Maker,  died  at  Fredericksburg,  May, 
'64;  Reuben  W.  Ellis,  Alonzo  Rogers,  jr.;  Co.  E,  Lewis  McClellan;  Co. 
G,  Benjamin  F.  Wixon,  died  at  Spottsylvania,  May,  '64.      Yarmouth: 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  107 

Co.  A,  James  P.  Atkins,  killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  June,  '64;  Co.  D,  Walter 
Hannaford,  V.  R.C.;  Co.  F,  Samuel  V.  Bruen,  George  King,  John  V. 
Seyton,  Patrick  Sullivan,  George  Thomas.  Dennis:  Co.  A.John  S. 
Chase,  Stephen  R.  Howes,  died  at  Washington,  June,  '64;  Salas  N. 
Kelley,  Ansel  L.  Studley,  died  at  home,  Oct.,  '64;  Co.  F,  Henry  V. 
Lord;  Co.  H,  Freeman  Hall,  Amos  C.  Ryder,  died  of  wounds 
June,  '64;  Co.  H,  Amos  F.  Wixon,  killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  June,  '64; 
Truro:  Co.  A,  Enoch  S.  Hamilton,  John  L.  D.  Hopkins,  died  in  Salis- 
bury, Feb.,  '65;  Benjamin  K.  Lombard,  died  at  Andersonville,  July, 
'64;  John  C.  Ryder,  John  Wilson.  Eastham:  Samuel  Nickerson,  jr., 
killed  at  Petersburg,  Jan.,  '65;  William  Willis;  unassigned,  John 
Brown,  Edward  Foss.  Sandivick:  Co.  A,  Timothy  Taylor,  John  W. 
Tinkman;  Co.  C,  Roland  G.  Holway,  died  at  Washington,  Aug.,  '64; 
Co.  F,  John  Peterson;  Co.  H,  Samuel  W.  Marvel,  serg.,  died  at  Salis- 
bury, Dec,  '64;  Co.  K,  John  Leary.  Wellfleet:  Co.  E,  William  Brown, 
2d.  James  Gill. 

Fifty-ninth  Regiment,  W,M.~Wellfleet:  Co.  C,  Frank  Leonard,  Alex- 
ander McDonald.  Falmouth:  Co.  D,  Edward  McCarter,  James  Mc- 
Carroll;  Co.  E,  D.W.  Mace.  Yarmouth:  Co.  F,  Morris  Lewis;  Co.  G,  Jean 
M.  Harmon,  killed  at  Wilderness,  May,  '64.  Sandwich:  Co.  F,  Moses 
Gerrom,  John  Hoffman,  Charles  Rheinhardt,  Herman  J.  Smith,  trans, 
to  Fifty-seventh.  Orleans:  Co.  F,  John  Magee.  Dennis:  Garland  S. 
Seward,  trans,  to  Fifty-seventh. 

Veteran  Reserve  Corps,  mustered  in  1864. — Harwich:  Josiah  Ar- 
mington,  Robert  Hanwell,  William  Harris,  Charles  Lang.  Chatham: 
Leroy  Aumock,  Michael  Bourke,  Henry  Buschman,  Edward  Carey, 
Edward  G.  Hall,  William  Hatfield,  James  McBride.  William  McDer- 
mott,  John  Powers,  Samuel  Swartwout.  Provincetown:  Edward  Bal- 
lard, M.  P.  Brady,  Joseph  Brigham,  William  H.  Isaac,  William  Laugh- 
lin,  Patrick  McCarty,  Alexander  Meek,  M.  D.,  Henry  A.  Packard,  Car- 
los Guinn,  George  K.  Richards,  John  T.  Smith,  James  D.  Vaughan. 
Falmouth:  Charles  Broukee,  James  Daly,  John  Kennigh,  George  W. 
Ryerson,  Persaville  W.  Williams.  Brewster:  Michael  Considine,  Otis 
Hemenway,  Franklyn  B.  Murphy.  Orleans:  Matthew  Delaney,  James 
Eagan,  Daniel  Finn,  M.  McDonald,  E.  G.  Tuttle.  Sandwich:  George 
W.  Derby,  D.  J.  O'Neil.  Dennis:  William  Fink,  Patrick  McKeyes, 
Lewis  Rowland.  Wellfleet:  John  J.  Malone,  V.  A.  Pickering,  William 
Schulter.      Yarmouth:  Patrick  Sheridan.      Eastham:  Erastus  Walker. 

Regular  Army  mustered  in  1864. — Sandwich:  Addison  H.  Cutting, 
into  Nineteenth  Infantry;  William  H.  Wright,  into  sigfnal  corps. 
Brewster:  Henry  Hart,  into  engineer  corps.  Eastham:  James  Hennes- 
sey, signal  corps.  Falmouth:  John  Manning,  Third  Art.  Harwich: 
Newell  H.  Miles,  Eleventh  Infantry. 

The  town  of  Barnstable  is  having   made  a  careful   manuscript 


108  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

record  of  her  soldiers,  for  preservation  in  her  town  archives.  The 
compiling,  entrusted  to  Gustavus  A.  Hinckley,  is  to  be  finished  in 
1890.  Other  towns  have  revised  their  soldier  lists  since  the  publica- 
tion of  the  adjutant  general's  report  on  which  this  chapter  is  based. 

Besides  those  soldiers  above  mentioned  the  Fourth  Regiment  had 
Neil  Mcintosh,  of  Dennis,  and  James  Colvin,  of  Harwich;  the  Seven- 
teenth had  William  Fay  and  Frank  Varnum;  the  Nineteenth  had 
Charles  Davis,  William  Miles  and  Conrad  Wilson;  and  in  the  Twen- 
tieth, John  H.  Dimon  was  in  Co.  E;  William  Marshall  was  in  Co.  F; 
John  McCawley  was  in  Co.  G;  and  John  McDonald  in  Co.  H. 

We  have  purposely  omitted  the  records  of  desertions  which  the 
official  reports  contain.  They  were  largely  from  among  the  substi- 
tutes enlisted  from  non-residents  of  the  county. 

In  1865,  after  the  close  of  the  war,  the  survivors  of  this  body  of 
patriots  returned  to  their  homes  and  were  received  with  every  demon- 
stration of  honor  and  thankfulness.  The  ex-soldiers  have  continued 
the  memories  and  friendships  of  the  war  by  the  establishment  of 
Posts  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  at  Sandwich,  South  Chat- 
ham, and  Provincetown,  to  which  the  veterans  of  the  surrounding 
towns  belong.  These  organizations  are  more  fully  mentioned  in  the 
histories  of  the  villages  where  located. 

In  grateful  remembrance  of  fallen  heroes,  five  towns  have  erected 
monuments  to  their  memory,  Barnstable  having  the  most  elaborate. 
It  was  erected  at  Centreville,  dedicated  July  4,  1866,  being  the  first  in 
the  state  in  point  of  time.  Its  cost  was  $1,050,  the  site  being  donated 
by  F.  G.  Kelley,  and  the  beautifully  proportioned  pile  of  Concord 
granite  bids  fair  to  stand  forever.  Upon  the  four  faces  of  the  shaft  the 
name,  age  and  date  of  death  of  each  of  Barnstable's  soldiers  are  deeply 
carved — on  the  north,  Thomas  Coleman,  jr.,  Enoch  Crocker,  Eliphalet 
Doane,  Ebenezer  Eldridge,  Josiah  C.  Fish,  Cyrus  B.  Fish,  Alfred  C.  Phin- 
ney,  and  Shubael  Linnell;  on  the  west  the  names  of  Timothy  Robbins, 
Joseph  C.  Scudder,  Martin  S.  Tinkum,  Aaron  H.  Young  and  Nathan 
F.  Winslow.  On  this  west  face  are  also  the  names  of  James  C.  Crocker 
and  Anthony  Chase  of  the  navy.  The  south  contains  the  names  of 
William  L.  Lumbert,  Allen  Marchant,  Solomon  Otis.  Samuel  B.  Otis, 
James  Pendergrass,  Albro  W.  Phinney,  Nathan  A.  Pitcher,  Andrew 
P.  Cobb  and  James  A.  Hathaway;  and  on  the  east  face  are  those  of 
Clarence  W.  Bassett,  George  H.  Bearse,  James  R.  Blagden,  Charles  G. 
Cook,  Simeon  C.  Childs,  Job  F.  Childs,  Obed  A.  Cahoon  and  Horace 
L.  Crocker.  The  grounds  around  this  monument  are  beautifully  laid 
out  and  well  kept. 

The  people  of  Chatham  have  indicated  their  gratitude  by  the  erec- 
tion of  a  shaft  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Sea  View  streets.  The  deeply 
engraved  inscription,  "Erected  by  the  town  to  those  who  fell  1861-1865," 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  109 

surmounts  the  column,  and  on  the  east  side  are  the  names  of  Captain 
Charles  M.  Upham,  Lieutenant  Franklin  D.  Hammond,  David  G. 
Young,  Benjamin  F.  Bassett,  Zebina  H.  Dill,  and  Edwin  S.  Nickerson. 
The  west  face  bears  the  names  of  Captain  William  H.  Harley,  Ser- 
geant Nathaniel  B.  Smith,  Sergeant  Francis  M.  Armstrong,  Seth  T. 
Howes,  Nathan  Eldridge,  John  Bolton,  and  James  Blauvelt. 

Orleans,  a  few  years  after  the  war,  erected  on  the  square  opposite 
the  town  house  a  fine  shaft  surmounted  by  the  life-size  figure  of  a 
soldier  at  parade  rest.  On  the  north  face  of  the  monument  are  the 
names  of  James  E.  Studley,  John  M.  Cowan,  Joseph  Moody,  and  Lewis 
Eldridge;  and  on  the  south,  Isaac  Y.  Smith,  Joshua  Gould,  Freeman 
A.  Sherman  and  John  W.  Walker. 

In  1866  the  Ladies'  Soldiers'  Aid  Society,  assisted  by  the  subscribers 
to  the  war  fund,  erected  a  monument  at  Wellfleet  in  the  burial  ground 
at  the  head  of  Duck  creek.  Upon  the  south  square  of  the  main  shaft 
are  the  names  of  William  A.  Holbrook,  Daniel  M.  Hall,  and  Charles 
R.  Morrill;  and  on  the  north  the  names  of  those  who  died  in  the  naval 
service — Levi  Y.  Wiley,  John  Y.  Cole,  John  D.  Langley,  and  John  N. 
Langley.  The  monument,  surrounded  by  an  iron  fence,  stands  adja- 
cent to  the  highway. 

Provincetown,  at  a  cost  of  about  $2,800,  erected  a  fine  monument 
to  the  memory  of  her  soldiers.     The  face  bears  this  inscription: 

Erected  by  the  Town  of  Provincetown  in  1867  m  oratitcde  to  the  memory 
OF  the  fallen  who  sacrificed  their  lives  to  save  their  codntry  during  the 
QREAT  Rebellion  of  1861-1885. 

The  right  face  has  this  inscription: 

ARMY. 
Thomas  J.  Gibbons. 

GEOROt  LOCKWOOD. 

Henry  A.  Smith. 
George  E.  Crocker. 
Jeremiah  Bennett. 

Elkamah  Smith. 

Taylor  Small,  Jr. 

John  G.  Lurten. 

John  W.  Bobbins. 

John  R.  Smith. 

Solomon  R.  Hiogins. 

Joseph  King. 

The  inscription  on  the  left  face  is: 

NAVY. 

JosiAH  C.  Freeman. 

Samuel  T.  Paine. 

William  E.  Tupper. 

William  H.  Chipilan. 

Asa  a.  Franken. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


By  Hon.  Charles  F.  Swift. 


Packet  Lines. — Mail  Routes  and  Stage  Coaches. — Railroads. — Ebcpress  Lines. — Telegraph 
and  Cable  Lines. — The  Telephone  Service. 


THE  methods  of  communication  with  the  great  centers  of  business 
and  intelligence  serve  to  mark  the  progress  of  modern  civiliza- 
tion in  a  community.  Travel  on  foot  or  on  horseback  between 
the  Cape  and  Plymouth,  or  Boston,  was  the  primitive  method  when 
such  travel  was  imperative;  but  owing  to  the  rude  state  of  the  roads, 
the  frequent  necessity  of  fording  streams,  and  the  poorly  constructed 
bridges,  this  method  of  communication  was  resorted  to  only  in  cases 
of  extreme  urgency.  How  great  was  the  burden  may  be  inferred  from 
the  vote  of  the  town  of  Yarmouth  in  1701,  when  Mr.  John  Miller,  the 
representative  elect  to  the  general  court,  was  allowed  two  extra  days 
to  go  and  return,  "  in  consequence  of  his  age  and  the  greatness  of  the 
journey."  The  water,  under  such  circumstances,  was  the  element 
which  offered  the  greatest  inducements  to  travellers  on  the  score  of 
comfort  and  speed,  if  not  for  perfect  reliability.  Though  advantage 
was  usually  taken  of  transient  vessels  to  procure  passage  to  and  from 
Boston,  it  does  not  seem  probable  that  regular  lines,  running  on  fixed 
and  stated  days,  were  established  much  if  any  before  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century;  and  it  was  thirty  or  forty  years  more  before  the 
business  assumed  anything  like  the  proportions  which  it  arrived  at  a 
few  years  prior  to  the  establishment  of  railroad  communications.  It 
was  probably  somewhat  later  when  stage  coaches  came  into  vogue, 
and  they,  too,  had  to  give  way  to  the  all-conquering  steam  cars. 

The  mode  of  travel  by  the  packets  was  much  better  adapted  to  the 
promotion  of  sociability  and  the  cultivation  of  acquaintanceship  than 
our  present  rapid  transit  by  rail.  With  twenty -five  to  fifty  persons 
crowded  into  the  cabins  and  upon  the  decks  of  a  small  schooner,  as 
was  often  the  case,  there  was  frequent  occasion  to  exercise  the  graces 
of  courtesy,  self-forgetfulness  and  consideration  for  the  convenience 
of  others.  Men  and  women,  thrown  together  under  such  circum- 
stances, soon  became  sociable  and  communicative.     All  sorts  of  topics 


TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  Ill 

were  discussed,  from  original  sin  to  the  price  of  codfish.  Experiences 
were  related  and  results  compared.  When  these  resources  were  ex- 
hausted recourse  was  had  to  amusements,  and  not  unfrequently  the 
younger  and  less  rigid  of  the  passengers  would  perhaps  resort  to  a 
game  of  checkers,  or  a  quiet  game  of  "  old  sledge,"  down  in  the  hold 
or  the  forecastle.  Travel  by  packet  was  a  great  leveler  of  social  dis- 
tinctions— the  squire,  the  village  storekeeper,  the  minister  or  the 
doctor  being  constrained  to  take  up  with  the  same  fare  as  their  more 
humble  neighbors,  upon  whom  they  were  obliged  to  depend  for  some 
degree  of  deference  or  courtesy.  On  the  other  hand,  these  important 
personages  often  felt  impelled  to  exercise  a  degree  of  condescension 
to  those  with  whom  they  were  thrown  in  such  intimate  relations.  A 
good  steward  was  a  great  acquisition  to  a  packet,  as  much  dependence 
was  placed  by  all  who  were  not  seasick  upon  the  refreshments  served 
to  the  passengers.  It  is  well  known  that  a  sea  trip  is  a  great  sharp- 
ener of  the  appetites  of  such  as  have  any  appetite  at  all,  and  it  seems 
almost  incredible,  in  view  of  the  gastronomic  feats  accomplished  on 
some  of  these  trips,  that  a  living  business  could  be  carried  on  under 
such  conditions  for  twenty-five  cents  per  meal. 

Great  was  the  excitement  on  land  when  the  packet  was  signaled  in 
the  offing  or  back  of  the  bar.  The  shores  were  swarmed  long  before 
her  arrival,  the  wharf  was  crowded,  and  scores  of  expert  hands  were 
ready  to  catch  the  warp  as  it  was  tossed  ashore  from  the  approaching 
vessel.  Then  came  eager  inquiries  for  "  the  news,"  and  an  exchange 
of  greetings  between  reunited  friends,  or  words  of  regret  because  of 
the  non-arrival  of  others.  In  those  days  scores  of  men  from  the  Cape 
villages  sailed  from  Boston,  and  this  was  the  usual  way  of  reaching 
home  after  their  return  from  voyages  abroad.  The  passengers  landed 
and  order  restored  on  the  cluttered  decks,  bulk  was  broken  and  the 
freight  briskly  passed  ashore.  There  were  innumerable  barrels,  hogs- 
heads, boxes,  sides  of  beef,  carcasses  of  mutton  or  pork,  and  jugs  in 
infinite  variety,  and  not  all  of  them  filled  with  vinegar  or  molasses. 
From  the  summits  of  the  highest  hills  signals  had  been  hoisted  on 
stafi^s  to  apprise  the  people  on  the  south  side  that  the  packet  was  in. 
Ample  notice  was  given  in  the  same  way  of  her  intended  departure. 
There  was  a  good  deal  of  rivalry  between  these  vessels  in  the  matter 
of  speed.  The  Barnstable,  Yarmouth  and  Dennis  packets,  and  those 
from  the  towns  below,  used  to  put  forth  their  best  efforts  to  make  the 
quickest  trips,  and  the  regattas  of  modern  times  were  anticipated  by 
these  rival  packet  craft.  A  good  many  five  dollar  bills  changed  hands 
on  some  of  these  occasions  between  the  betting  friends  of  the  differ- 
ent vessels.  Commencing  on  the  bay  side — because  that  was  the 
scene  of  the  greater  portion  of  their  achievements — and  at  Sandwich 
— by  reason  of  its  being  the  oldest  town  in  the  county — it  will  be  a 


112  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

matter  of  general  interest  to  trace  the  development,  growth  and  ulti- 
mate abandonment  of  the  two  channels  of  communication — the  packet 
and  the  stage  coach. 

Sandwich. — The  first  packet  between  Sandwich  and  Boston,  of 
which  there  is  any  data  existing,  was  the  Charming  Betty,  a  sloop  of 
forty-five  tons,  built  in  1717  by  Thomas  Bourne,  and  purchased  by 
Simeon  Dillingham.  Other  packets,  we  know  by  tradition,  plied  be- 
tween these  ports,  but  their  names  have  not  been  preserved.  About 
1825  the  sloops  Polly,  Captain  Roland  Gibbs,  and  Splendid,  Captain 
Sewall  Fessenden,  were  on  this  route,  and  Captain  Charles  Nye  run 
the  Charles,  which  was  built  on  the  shore  below  the  present  town 
house.  Deming  Jarves  afterwards  built,  just  below  the  glass  works, 
the  sloop  Sandwich  (which  was  perhaps  the  first  regular  passenger 
packet),  also  commanded  by  Captain  Charles  Nye.  The  Henry  Clay, 
built  by  Hinckley  Brothers  at  West  Sandwich  in  1831-2,  was  com- 
manded by  Captain  George  Atkins.  The  sloop  Sarah,  commanded  by 
Calvin  Fish,  ran  from  the  village  with  wood  and  passengers,  and  be- 
tween these  last  two  there  was  a  sharp  rivalry.  The  village  people, 
not  satisfied  with  the  sailing  qualities  of  the  Sarah,  purchased  the 
schooner  Nancy  Finley,  and  the  competition  continued.  About  1840 
the  Boston  and  Sandwich  Glass  Company  purchased  the  schooner 
Sarah,  a  fleet  craft,  also  commanded  by  Captain  Atkins.  The  village 
people  tried  again,  and  bought  the  schooner  Cabinet;  Captain  Roland 
Gibbs  commanded  her,  and  afterward  the  sloop  Osceola,  a  fast  sailer. 

The  packeting  business  was  in  its  glory  just  before  the  advent  of 
steam  cars,  in  1848.  Competition  was  brisk  and  rates  were  cut  from 
one  dollar  to  twenty-five  cents  per  trip.  Afterthe  opening  of  the  rail- 
road the  business  began  to  decline.  Captain  Sears  left  the  line  and 
took  command  of  a  brig  in  the  freighting  business.  The  Glass  Com- 
pany also  took  off  its  packet.  The  Wm.  G.  Eddie,  Captain  Stephen 
Sears,  ran"  a  few  months,  but  was  not  remunerative.  Early  in  the 
fifties,  Mr.  Jarves  had  a  disagreement  with  the  railroad  company  as 
to  the  rates  of  freight,  and  in  conversation  with  Mr.  Bourne,  the  super- 
intendent, threatened  to  put  a  steamer  on  the  route  between  the  Cape 
and  Sandwich.  Mr.  Bourne,  it  is  stated,  remarked  that  "  the  acorn  was 
not  yet  planted  to  grow  the  timber  for  such  a  steamer."  But  the 
steamer  was  built,  and  remembering  the  conversation,  Mr.  Jarves 
named  her  the  Acorn.  She  ran  a  few  years,  and  was  commanded  by 
Captain  Roland  Gibbs.  But  both  steam  and  sailing  vessels  in  the  end 
succumbed  to  the  railroad  as  a  means  of  communication  with  the  out- 
side world. 

Falmouth.— The  geographical  position  of  this  town  rendered  regu- 
lar water  communication  with  Boston  impracticable.  But  in  the  early 
and  middle  parts  of  the  present  century  there  was  constant  and  regu- 


TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION.  113 

lar  communication  with  Nantucket,  which  was  then  a  place  of  great 
relative  importance.  Several  vessels  ran  between  Falmouth,  East 
Falmouth  and  Nantucket,  with  wood  for  the  island,  and  all  these  craft 
took  passengers,  particularly  during  the  great  local  festival,  "  sheep- 
shearing,"  when  the  natives  and  their  friends  from  abroad  held  high 
carnival  together  for  a  week!  This  intercourse  continued  after  the 
glory  of  sheep-shearing  had  departed,  until  the  opening  of  steamboat 
communication  between  Nantucket  and  the  main  land. 

The  first  packet,  of  which  any  knowledge  exists,  running  between 
Falmouth  and  New  Bedford,  was  a.  large  sail-boat  owned  and  run  by 
Captain  James  Stewart  about  the  year  1826.  About  1827  the  sloop 
Henry  Clay,  Captain  Ezekiel  E.  Swift,  was  put  upon  the  route  between 
the  two  places,  and  ran  for  several  years.  Owing  to  increase  of  busi- 
ness about  the  year  1834,  another  sloop,  called  the  Swift,  vjas  built  and 
run  by  Captain  Swift,  formerly  of  the  Henry  Clay,  which  latter  was 
run  by  Captain  John  Phinney,  both  vessels  running  to  and  fro  on 
alternate  days.  In  1836  another  sloop,  the  Temperance,  was  put  on  the 
route  and  the  Henry  Clay  was  withdrawn.  A  few  years  later  Captain 
Swift  retired,  and  was  succeeded  by  Captain  Oliver  F.  Robinson  for 
many  years  thereafter.  Since  the  Woods  Holl  railroad  was  opened, 
no  direct  line  of  packets  has  run  to  New  Bedford  from  this  town.  But 
daily  and  more  frequent  steamboat  communication  in  summer  is  still 
maintained  between  Woods  Holl  and  New  Bedford. 

Regular  communication  was  maintained  between  West  Falmouth 
and  New  Bedford  by  Captain  William  Baker  of  the  packet  sloop  Nile, 
with  which  for  years  he  made  tri-weekly  trips  from  West  Falmouth. 
He  and  his  craft  were  succeeded  by  Captain  James  D.  Hoxie  in  the 
sloop  Peerless,  with  which  the  three  round  trips  weekly  were  made 
until  the  opening  of  the  Woods  Holl  railroad. 

Barnstable. — The  town  of  Barnstable  had  in  1800  but  a  small 
amount  of  .shipping,  and  it  is  not  known  that  any  regular  packet  line 
was  maintained  here.  In  1806  the  schooner  Comet,  105  70-96  tons  bur- 
then, commanded  by  Captain  Asa  Scudder,  made  frequent  trips  be- 
tween Barnstable  and  Boston.  At  the  time  of  the  declaration  of  war 
with  Great  Britain,  in  1812,  the  sloop  Independence,  oi  about  thirty  tons, 
Captain  Richard  Howes,  was  running  transiently  as  a  Barnstable  and 
Boston  packet.  Before  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1814,  on  her  return 
passage  from  Boston,  this  vessel  was  fired  into,  boarded  and  burned 
by  the  crew  of  the  British  frigate  Nymph,  having  been  set  on  fire  with 
her  sails  all  standing.  The  captain  and  passengers  were  taken  in  a 
barge  to  the  frigate.  Their  names  were:  Richard  Howes,  John 
Lothrop,  David  Parker,  Timothy  Phinney  and  his  young  son,  Syl- 
vanus  B.  Phinney,  all  of  Barnstable.  They  were  landed  the  day  fol- 
lowing near  Boston  light.  The  cargo,  mostly  groceries,  belonged  to 
8 


114  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Mr.  Parker,  one  of  the  passengers,  a  trader  at  West  Barnstable.  The 
frigates  continued  to  annoy  the  packets  on  this  coast  until  the  close  of 
the  war. 

Several  ship-yards  were  established  in  this  town  after  the  war. 
Four  of  the  most  prominent  packets  between  Barnstable  and  Boston — 
the  schooners  Globe,  Volant,  Sappho  and  Flavilla — were  built  here  by 
Captain  William  Lewis.  The  sloop  Freedom  was  also  built  at  West 
Barnstable,  and  ran  as  a  packet  to  Boston  a  few  years,  commanded  by 
Captain  Washington  Farris.  The  sloop  Science,  Captain  Joseph  Huck- 
ins,  and  schooner  Globe,  Captain  Simpson,  were  of  this  line  until 
about  the  year  1826.  In  1828-9  the  sloop  James  Lawrence,  Captain 
Goodspeed,  and  schooner  Volant,  Captain  Huckins,  formed  the  regular 
line  to  Boston.  In  1831-2,  the  schooner  Volant,  Gorham,  and  the 
sloops  James  Lawrence,  Goodspeed,  Betsey,  Fish,  and  Velocity,  Lewis, 
ran  to  Boston.  In  1833-4,  the  schooners  Globe  and  Volant  were  in  the 
regfular  line.  In  1836  Captain  Matthias  Hinckley  took  charge  of  the 
Globe,  and  Captain  Thomas  Smith  of  the  Sappho,  in  this  line. 

At  this  period  the  travel  by  packets  to  Boston  had  largely  in- 
creased, and  it  was  felt  that  the  time  had  come  for  vessels  of  greater 
speed.  The  sloop  Commodore  Hull  of  Yarmouth  was  considered  the 
fastest  on  the  coast,  and  in  1838  Captains  Matthias  Hinckley  and 
Thomas  Percival  went  to  Sing  Sing,  N.  Y.,  to  contract  for  a  new  packet 
to  compete  with  her.  The  sloop  Mail  was  the  result,  and  many  are 
now  living  who  remember  the  excitement  which  was  created  in  the 
race  which  took  place  from  Barnstable  to  Boston,  between  those  two 
packets.  With  a  strong  southerly  wind  they  left  Barnstable  bar,  dur- 
ing the  forenoon.  Running  side  by  side  as  far  as  could  be  seen  from 
the  shore,  they  made  the  passage  in  about  six  hours,  the  Mail  having 
passed  into  the  dock  at  Central  wharf  not  over  three  lengths  ahead  of 
her  rival.  This  slight  victory  was,  however,  believed  to  have  been 
accidental,  as  the  Commodore  Hull  \f as  considered  the  fastest  sailer  of 
the  two.  Captain  Percival  made  the  passage  with  Captain  Hinckley 
to  give  him  the  advantage  of  his  own  experience. 

In  1841  the  Mail,  Emerald  and  Sappho  were  of  the  line.  In  1843 
the  steamer  Express,  Captain  Sanford,  ran  a  part  of  the  year,  taking 
passengers  between  Boston,  Plymouth,  Barnstable  and  Provincetown. 
In  1845  the  Sappho  and  Mail  continued  their  regular  trips,  and  the 
steamer  Yacht,  Captain  Sanford,  took  the  place  of  the  Express.  The 
steamer  Naushon,  Captain  Paine,  was  then  making  occasional  trips  from 
Boston  to  Wellfleet  and  Provincetown.  and  less  frequently  to  Yar- 
mouth and  Barnstable.  In  1846-7  the  sloop  Emerald,  Captain  Joseph 
Huckins,  jr.,  and  the  Sappho  and  Mail  comprised  the  regular  line. 
The  Flavilla  also  made  several  trips,  when  not  in  the  fishing  business. 
In  1860-1  the  sloop  Rough  and  Ready  was  added  to  the  line,  and  in 


TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  116 

1852-3-4  the  Mail,  Sapplw  and  Premium,  Captain  Arey,  constituted  the 
line.  During  a  portion  of  the  season  of  1864  the  steamer  Acorn,  Cap- 
tain Gibbs,  was  running  between  Boston,  Sandwich,  Yarmouth  and 
Provincetown.  The  excursions  of  the  steamers,  so  frequently  made, 
did  not  destroy  the  business,  for  in  18f)7  the  Mail,  Captain  Crocker, 
Abby  Gould,  Captain  Young,  and  schooner  L.  Snow,  Jr.,  Captain  Backus, 
continued  to  run  through  most  of  the  year.  During  the  season  the 
il/az7made  occasional  trips  to  Boston,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Aaron  H.  Young.  The  travel,  however,  had  largely  decreased,  as  the 
railroad  cars  had  commenced  running.  In  1858  the  Mail,  Captain 
Young  (which  vessel  had  been  changed  into  a  schooner),  and  the  sloop 
Simon  P.  Cole,  Captain  Crocker,  continued  to  run  through  most  of  the 
season.  In  1859  the  Emerald  vf&s  sold,  and  in  1860  the  fleet  was  re- 
duced to  the  schooner  Flora  and  the  sloops  Mail  and  Simon  P.  Cole. 
In  1861-2-3  there  was  not  a  vessel  running  regularly  between  Barn- 
stable and  Boston,  most  of  them  having  embarked  in  the  coasting 
trade  from  other  ports,  and  in  1864  it  was  rare  that  a  flag  was  seen 
flying  at  mast-head  from  vessels  at  either  of  the  three  wharves  at 
Barnstable. 

Yarmouth. — Probably  before  the  commencement  of  this  century 
packets  were  running  with  more  or  less  regfularity  between  Yarmouth 
and  Boston.  Captains  Job  Crowell,  Nathan  Hallet,  Prince  Howes  and 
Ansel  Hallet  were  the  earliest  packet  masters  of  whom  knowledge 
now  exists.  Captain  Ansel  Hallet  commanded  the  sloop  Betsey  for 
some  years  after  the  war  of  1812-16.  He  afterward  sailed  another 
sloop  called  the  Messenger,  and  lost  his  life  in  1832.  while  laboring  to 
get  her  ready  for  sea.  In  swinging  her  around  preparatory  to  start- 
ing, the  vessel  grounded  on  a  sandbar.  Captain  Hallet,  while  assist- 
ing at  low  tide  to  dig  beneath  her  in  order  to  deepen  the  channel,  was 
crushed  to  death  by  the  vessel  rolljng  over. 

At  Town  Dock,  Captain  Thomas  Matthews,  sr.,  some  sixty  years 
ago,  ran  the  sloop  Martha  Jane  between  that  part  of  Yarmouth  and 
Boston.  Later  Captain  Isaac  Hamblin  commanded  the  sloop  Emerald 
on  the  same  line.  This  vessel  was  afterward  sold  and  put  on  the  line 
from  Barnstable.  The  other  wharf  and  landing  was  at  "  Lone  Tree," 
a  little  to  the  eastward  of  the  present  Central  wharf,  which  was  built 
in  1832.  This  year  the  sloop  Flight  was  placed  on  the  Boston  route 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Edward  Hallet,  son  of  Captain  Ansel, 
and  the  captain's  brother,  Ansel,  went  a  part  of  the  time  as  his  mate. 
Captain  Edward  ran  the /7t;^/i/ until  about  the  year  1850,  when  she  was 
sold,  and  Captain  Hallet  retired  from  the  business.  From  some  time 
in  1828  to  1836,  Captain  Paddock  Thacher  commanded  the  schooner 
Commodore  Hull,  and  at  the  latter  date  was  succeeded  by  Captain 
Thomas  Matthews.     In  1841  Captain  Matthews  built  the   schooner 


116  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Yarmouth,  the  best  planned  and  most  convenient  craft  that  ever  en- 
gaged in  the  business  from  this  port..  Captain  Matthews  commanded 
her  until  1849,  when  Captain  Nathaniel  Taylor  took  charge  and  ran 
her  until  she  was  sold.  Messrs.  H.  B.  Chase  &  Sons  employed  her  for 
several  years  as  a  coaster  between  Hyannis  and  New  York  and  vicin- 
ity. About  1860  Captain  Ansel  Hallet  ran  a  packet  sloop  called  the 
Maria.  After  that  he  engaged  in  the  same  business  with  the  schooner 
Chas.B.Prijidle,  from  1856  to  1860,  though  not  in  that  employment  all 
the  time.    She  was  wrecked  the  latter  year  oflf  Manomet,  Plymouth. 

Contemporary  with  the  Flight  and  Yarmouth,  from  about  1841  to 
1843,  Captain  Paddock  Thacher  ran  the  sloop  Simon  P.  Cole.  After 
the  sale  of  the  Yarmouth,  Captain  Nathaniel  Taylor  commanded  the 
schooner  Lucy  Elizabeth  from  1866  to  1859,  when,  in  consequence  of 
injuries  received  on  board,  he  gave  up  the  command  to  Captain  El- 
kannah  Hallet,  who  was  in  charge  but  a  few  months,  being  succeeded 
by  his  brother  Charles,  who  ran  her  two  or  three  years,  until  she  was 
withdrawn.  In  1862  Captain  Edward  Gorham,  who  had  previously 
run  the  schooner  H.  S.  Barnes,  with  others  purchased  the  schooner 
North,  of  Dennis,  which  was  run  to  Boston  under  the  command  of  Cap- 
tain Gorham,  until  the  year  1870,  when  the  North  was  disposed  of,  and 
since  that  time  there  has  been  no  Boston  packet  from  this  place,  where 
two  or  three  were  formerly  well  supported.  An  attempt  to  run  a 
small  sioop  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  North,  for  certain  kinds  of 
freight  only,  proved  a  failure. 

Dennis  and  East  Dennis. — There  seems  to  be  a  good  deal  of  evi- 
dence that  regular  communication  by  water  between  this  part  of  the 
Cape  and  Boston  commenced  at  an  early  date.  In  letters  written  as 
early  as  1739,  now  in  the  possession  of  Captain  Thomas  P.  Howes, 
reference  is  made  to  such  channel  of  communication.  In  the  latter 
part  of  the  last  century  Captain  Nathaniel  Hall  was  running  a  packet 
— name  unknown — from  Dennis  to  Boston.  Early  in  1800  Captain 
Jeremiah  Hall  commanded  a  packet  between  Dennis  and  Boston,  and 
was  knocked  overboard  and  drowned  on  a  trip  from  the  latter  place. 
In  1821  the  sloop  Sally  was  built  in"  the  meadow  below  where  Mr.  S. 
H.  Nye  now  lives,  and  was  launched  and  passed  down  the  cove  west  of 
the  Bass  Hole.  She  was  twenty-eight  tons  burthen,  and  was  mostly 
owned  by  Captain  Uriah  Howes,  who  placed  her  on  the  route  to  Bos- 
ton. She  soon  passed  into  the  charge  of  Captain  Ezra  Hall,  who  ran 
her  as  a  packet  until  1832.  The  sloop  Heroine,  commanded  by  Captain 
Jeremiah  Howes,  sr.,  was  put  on  the  same  route  about  the  same  time, 
but  was  withdrawn  sooner.  The  schooner  North  was  built  in  Connec- 
ticut in  1833,  and  commenced  running  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Oren  Howes,  who  had  for  some  time  previous  commanded  the  Sally. 
The  North  was  for  that  day  a  fine  craft,  with  ample  accommodations, 


TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION.  117 

and  Captain  Howes  was  a  popular'  and  energetic  commander.  He  gave 
np  his  command  in  1854,  and  was  succeeded  by  Captain  Isaiah  Hall, 
who  had  for  some  time  been  his  mate.  She  continued  on  the  route 
until  1862,  when  she  was  sold  to  Yarmouth  parties,  being  the  last  of 
the  Dennis  packets. 

The  East  Dennis  packet  trade  was  in  early  times  kept  up  by  tran- 
sient vessels.  It  is  stated  that  Mr.  Edmund  Sears,  early  in  the  cen- 
tury, ran  a  Boston  packet  called  the  Betsey  for  a  number  of  years. 
Later,  his  two  sons — Judah  and  Jacob — ran  a  packet  schooner  called 
the  Sally  and  Betsey,  named  for  their  two  wives.  Judah  was  nominally 
the  captain.  This  was  previous  to  1828.  About  that  time  Captain 
Dean  Sears  ran  a  Boston  packet  schooner  called  the  Eliza  and  Betsey, 
and  at  the  same  time  Captain  Joseph  H.  Sears  was  running  a  sloop 
called  the  Combine.  In  1833  two  new  schooners,  the  David  Porter  and 
the  Combitie,  were  put  on  this  line — the  latter  seeming  to  be  a  popular 
name  in  this  locality.  The  old  ves5?els  were  withdrawn,  and  Captain 
Dean  Sears  commanded  the  David  Porter,  and  Captain  Joseph  H.  Sears 
the  Combine.  The  former  continued  to  run  as  a  packet  after  all  the 
others  had  given  up  the  business,  and  was  not  withdrawn  until  about 
1874.  She  had,  however,  several  masters.  Captain  Dean  Sears  left 
packeting  to  command  ships.     Captains  Constant  Sears,  Enos  Sears, 

Stillman  Kelley  (from  1840  to  1849)  and  Sears  had  charge  of 

her  at  various  times.  The  Combine  had  a  much  shorter  career  as  a 
packet.  Captain  Joseph  H.  Sears  also  left  her  to  take  charge  of  ships 
in  the  foreign  trade,  and  to  own  in  and  manage  them.  It  can  be 
truthfully  said  of  the  packet  masters  who  for  half  a  century  or  more 
plied  between  the  north  side  of  the  town  and  Boston,  that  they  were 
men  of  great  activity,  extraordinary  skill  in  handling  their  vessels, 
seldom  meeting  with  accidents,  and  of  undisputed  integrity  of  char- 
acter. 

Chatham. — Communication  between  Chatham  and  Boston  by  sail- 
ing packets  was  for.  many  years  transacted  via  Brewster  and  Orleans, 
especially  the  former.  In  the  earlier  times  the  freighting  to  and  from 
the  city  was  in  the  fishing  vessels  after  and  before  their  summer  voy- 
ages were  made,  the  trades-people  being  generally  owners  in  these 
craft.  But  more  frequent  and  direct  communication  being  needed, 
the  packets  on  the  bay  side  were  resorted  to.  There  were  two  pack- 
ets— the  Cfiatliam  and  the  Sarah — sailing  from  Brewster  for  several 
years  after  1830,  which  divided  the  patronage  of  the  Chatham  public. 
They  established  a  system  of  telegraphy,  by  means  of  flags  and  balls 
hoisted  on  high  points  of  land  from  one  town  to  another,  which  indi- 
cated the  time  of  departure  and  arrival  of  these  vessels.  Conveyance 
across  the  Cape  was  generally  in  open  wagons,  with  baggage  lashed 
on  behind.  The  farmers  would  leave  the  plough  or  scythe  almost  any 
day  to  go  to  Brewster  for  passengers. 


118  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  first  regular  packet  between  Boston  and  Chatham  was  the 
Canton,  built  about  the  year  1830,  and  run  by  Barzillai  Harding.  Sev- 
eral Chatham  people  owned  an  interest  in  her,  and  while  she  did  a 
good  freighting  business  the  bulk  of  the  travel  continued  to  go  by  the 
Brewster  route.  Other  packets  came  on  later — the  John  J.  Eaton, 
Captain  Smith,  Eunice  Johnson,  C.  Taylor,  3d,  P.  M.  Bonney,  and  others. 
Two  good  vessels  were  usually  running  at  the  same  time,  and  did  a 
profitable  business  carrying  freight,  until  the  railroad  came  down  to  the 
Cape,  when  the  business  gradually  declined.  A  vessel,  about  the  time 
of  the  Canton,  ran  between  this  place  and  Nantucket.  The  women 
used  to  go  over  to  the  island  every  year  with  produce  for  barter. 
From  ten  to  fifteen  small  vessels  for  many  years  ran  between  Chat- 
ham, New  Bedford  and  New  York  and  the  intervening  ports,  carrying 
fish,  and  returniug  with  produce,  flour,  grain  and  the  like.  For  sev- 
eral years  prior  to  the  opening  of  railroad  communication,  a  regular 
packet  ran  between  Chatham  and  New  Bedford. 

Brewster. — The  earliest  packet  between  this  place  and  Boston  of 
which  there  is  any  record,  was  the  schooner  Republic,  commanded  by 
James  Crosby  about  the  years  1818-20.  She  used  to  land  her  freight  at 
a  place  on  the  shore  called  Point  Rocks.  Captain  Crosby  afterward  com- 
manded the  sloop  Polly,  in  the  same  business.  •  Captain  Solomon  Fos- 
ter for  several  years  ran  a  packet  sloop  called  the  Fame;  Captain 
Nathan  Foster  also  commanded  her.  The  breakwater  and  boat  wharf 
were  built  by  the  owners  of  the  packets  about  the  year  1830.  Captain 
John  My  rick  commanded  the  schooner  Chatham  for  many  years,  and 
afterward  the  sloop  Rough  and  Ready,  up  to  the  time  of  the  advent  of 
the  rail  cars.  The  schooner  Sarah  was  a  contemporary  of  the  Chatham 
during  most  of  the  time  she  was  on  the  route,  and  was  commanded 
most  of  the  time  by  Captain  Freeman  H.  Bangs.  Both  these  vessels 
were  finely  fitted  for  the  accommodation  of  passengers,  and  they  ab- 
sorbed a  large  portion  of  the  travel  from  Chatham  and  Harwich  as 
well  as  from  Brewster  and  vicinity.  Captain  Nathaniel  Chase  also 
commanded  a  small  schooner  called  Eliza  Kelley, som&  time  before  and 
shortly  after  the  railroad  opened.  There  has  been  no  packet  on  the 
route  for  several  years. 

Orleans. — The  earliest  Boston  packet  from  this  place,  of  which 
there  is  any  information,  was  a  sloop  of  fifteen  or  twenty  tons,  Captain 
Edward  Jarvis,  which  was  running  in  1808,  and  had  then  been  some 
little  time  on  the  route.  She  had  poor  accommodations  for  passengers, 
and  seldom  carried  any  except  those  who  were  in  no  hurry.  Captain 
Jarvis  gave  up  his  business  in  1812,  and  was  succeeded  by  a  sloop 
commanded  by  Captain  Asa  Higgins.  He  was  succeeded  by  Captains 
Abiel  Crosby,  Jonathan  Rogers,  Jonathan  Crosby,  Obed  Crosby,  Seth 
Sparrow  and  others,  but  the  names  of  their  vessels  are  not  now  avail- 


TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION.  119 

able.  About  1820,  the  sloop  De  Wolfe,  commanded  by  Captain  Simeon 
Higgins,  who  afterward  became  so  famous  as  a  hotel  keeper  and  stage 
coach  contractor,  ran  on  this  line  for  a  number  of  years. 

Not  far  from  1825,  the  need  of  better  facilities  for  transporting 
their  salt  to  Boston  induced  the  manufacturers  to  encourage  the  con- 
struction of  two  schooners,  and  the  President  Washington,  Captain  War- 
ren  A.  Kenrick,  and  Lafayette,  Captain  Jesse  Snow,  were  built  to  ac- 
commodate the  salt  makers  as  "well  as  the  general  travelling  public. 
After  a  few  years  in  command  Captain  Kenrick  died  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Captain  Lot  Higgins,  and  he,  after  a  while  by  Captain 
Joseph  Gould  and  others.  The  decline  of  the  salt  business  led  to  the 
disposal  of  the  two  vessels  and  the  substitution  of  .smaller  craft.  The 
sloop  Elizabeth,  Captain  Absalom  Linnell,  ran  on  this  line  several 
years.  Her  successors  were  the  .sloop  Taglioni,  Captain  Benjamin 
Gould,  and  the  Harriet  Maria,  Captain  Samuel  N.  Smith.  The  Harriet 
Maria  met  with  a  serious  accident  on  one  of  her  trips  in  1857.  October 
8th,  in  Boston  harbor  she  was  run  down  and  sunk  by  the  British 
steamer  Niagara.  One  of  the  crew,  being  entangled  in  the  rigging, 
was  carried  down  and  drowned  before  rescue  was  possible.  The  ves- 
sel was  afterward  raised  and  repaired.  She  was  the  last  of  the  Boston 
packets,  and  continued  on  the  route  about  two  years  after  the  cars  ran 
to  the  town. 

Eastham. — Captain  David  C.  Atwood  may  be  regarded  as  the 
pioneer  of  the  packeting  business  between  Eastham  and  Boston.  In 
1821  he  procured  a  sloop  of  forty  tons  burthen  called  the  Clipper,  and 
commenced  the  business.  Before  this  time  passengers  were  brought 
by  lumber  vessels,  which  stopped  at  Boston  both  going  and  coming 
from  the  eastward;  also  by  fishing  vessels,  which  usually  made  a  trip 
to  Boston  before  and  after  the  season's  trip  to  their  fishing  grounds. 
Captain  Atwood  was  on  this  route  several  years.  After  him  came  the 
NeT.v  York,  Captain  Samuel  Snow,  which  ran  from  Nauset  harbor  in 
the  summer,  and  Bay  side  in  the  spring  and  fall.  At  this  time  East- 
ham manufactured  about  30,000  bushels  of  salt.  This  rendered 
packet  vessels  in  good  demand.  A  few  years  later  the  schooner 
Young  Tell  was  placed  on  the  route  by  Captain  Scotter  Cobb,  who  was 
in  the  business  for  many  years.  This  was  the  first  two-masted  packet 
Eastham  had.  Afterward  Captain  Cobb  bought  the  Brewster  packet, 
Patriot.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  H.  K.  Cobb,  who  ran  the  A.  C. 
Totten  for  several  years,  and  then  built  the  Bay  Queen,  the  largest  and 
best  of  all  the  Eastham  packets,  and  also  the  last  of  them. 

After  the  Young  Tell  was  given  up  Eastham  parties  bought  the 
Yarmouth  sloop  Flight,  the  fastest  sailer  in  the  Bay.  Not  unf requently 
these  packets  took  from  thirty  to  fifty  passengers.  No  life  was  lost 
nor  any  serious  accident  occurred  in  all  this  time,  which  is  ample  tes- 


120  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

timony  to  the  skill  and  judgment  of  the  commanders  of  these  vessels. 
The  fare  for  passages  was  usually  seventy-five  cents  each  way,  and  the 
time  occupied  for  a  run  was  from  six  hours  to  two  days,  according 
to  the  wind  and  weather.  Besides  the  passenger  packets  other  ves- 
sels, more  especially  designed  for  freighting,  were  for  years  on  the 
route.  In  1824  Captain  Jesse  Collins  purchased  the  sloop  Algerine,  the 
first  center-board  vessel  ever  in  these  waters  and  a  great  marvel  to  all, 
and  placed  her  on  the  route  from  Nauset  harbor  most  of  the  time,  and 
from  the  Bay  the  remainder,  freighting  salt  to  Boston  at  six  cents  per 
bushel  from  the  first  landing  and  five  cents  from  the  latter.  In  1836 
parties  in  the  south  part  of  the  town  bought  the  schooner  Combine,  of 
Dennis,  for  the  same  business,  but  she  proved  an  unfortunate  invest- 
ment. The  same  fate  befell  the  business  here  as  elsewhere,  upon  the 
advent  of  the  railroad,  although  it  held  out  with  a  little  more  tenacity 
here  than  in  the  upper  towns  of  the  county.  Some  dozen  years  ago 
there  was  also  a  packet  running  from  Eastham  to  Provincetown. 

Wellfleet. — It  is  not  known  that  any  regular  packet  ran  between 
this  port  and  Boston  previous  to  1812-16.  At  the  close  of  the  war  a 
regular  line  was  established,  consisting  of  three  sloops  of  from  thirty 
to  forty  tons  burthen,  viz.:  Hannah,  Benjamin  Freeman,  master;  New 
Packet,  Joseph  Higgins,  master,  and  Mary,  Joseph  Harding,  ma,ster. 
In  1819  the  Neiv  Packet,  on  her  trip  to  Boston,  struck  on  Minot's  Ledge 
in  a  thick  fog  and  immediately  sunk,  the  captain  and  two  of  his  crew 
being  saved.  Two  Methodist  clergymen  who  were  passengers  were 
lost.  In  1820  Captain  Higgins  had  the  sloop  Pacific  built  to  take  the 
place  of  the  New  Packet.  In  1826  the  first  schooner  was  built  for  this 
route — the  Swiftsure,  commanded  by  Thomas  Newcomb.  She  created 
quite  a  sensation,  and  for  a  while  took  nearly  all  the  passengers.  In 
1830  the  schooner  Herald,  commanded  by  Henry  Baker,  was  put  on 
the  route.  In  1835  was  built  the  schooner  Fremont,  commanded  by 
Captain  Thomas  Newcomb,  formerly  of  the  Swiftsure.  In  1836  was 
built  the  schooner  Merchant,  Henry  Baker,  master.  The  Herald,  pre- 
viously commanded  by  Captain  Baker,  was  in  charge  this  year  of 
Captain  Robert  T.  Paine,  and  had  her  berth  at  Blackfish  Creek. 

In  1847  were  built  the  schooner  Sophia  Wiley,  James  Wiley,  master, 
and  the  Golden  Age,  commanded  by  Captain  Robert  T.  Paine,  lately  of 
the  Herald.  In  1853  and  1856  respectively,  two  larger  schooners  were 
built — the  Lilla  Rich  and  Nelly  Baker,  commanded  by  Captains  Richard 
R.  Freeman  and  Jeremiah  B.  Harding.  These  two  packets,  with  the 
Sophia  Wiley  and  Golden  Age  running  part  of  the  time,  constituted  the 
packet  line  of  this  place  for  about  twenty-five  years,  when  the  failure 
of  the  oyster  planting  business  and  the  advent  of  the  railroad  rendered 
it  impossible  to  run  them  with  profit.  The  schooner  Freddie  A.  Hig- 
gins, Noah  S.  Higgins,  master,  was  built  in  1882,  and  with  the  small 


TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION.  121 

schooner  /.  H.  Tripp,  J.  A.  Rich  master,  brought  there  the  same  year, 
constitute  the  present  packet  line  between  Wellfleet  and  Boston. 

Truro. — It  cannot  be  ascertained  that  there  was  any  vessel  en- 
gaged in  the  packet  business  in  this  town  prior  to  1812,  yet  there  can 
be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  there  was  some  periodical  connection  be- 
tween this  place  and  Boston  many  years  before.  The  first  regularly 
established  packet  of  which  there  is  authentic  information  was.  the 
pink,  Comet,  Captain  Zoheth  Rich.  About  1830  the  friends  of  Cap- 
tain Rich  built  for  him  the  schooner  Postboy,  "  the  finest  specimen  of 
naval  architecture  and  of  passenger  accommodation  in  the  bay 
waters."  Her  cabin  :.nd  furniture  were  finished  in  solid  mahogony 
and  birdseye,  and  silk  draperies.  She  was  the  favorite  of  the  travel- 
ing public  and  was  thronged  with  passengers.  Captain  Richard  Stev- 
ens some  years  later  ran  successively  the  Young  Tell,  Mail  and  the 
fine  schooner  Medina.  With  the  deterioration  of  the  town  harbors, 
the  decline  of  the  fishing  business  and  the  general  suspension  of  the 
regular  industries  of  the  town,  the  packeting  business  also  fell  into 
decay  before  the  day  of  steam  cars. 

Provincetown. — Though  the  leading  commercial  town  on  the 
Cape,  Provincetown  did  not  become  prominent  as  a  community,  nor 
as  a  place  of  residence  until  some  time  after  the  war  of  1812-15.  During 
that  period,  as  in  the  war  of  the  revolution,  its  harbor  was  a  rendez- 
vous of  British  men-of-war,  and  its  local  shipping  was,  of  course, 
annihilated.  Probably  about  the  year  1820,  the  sloop  Truth — the  first 
Provincetown  packet  of  which  any  knowledge  exists — commenced 
running  between  this  port  and  Boston.  She  was  owned  by  John  Nick- 
erson,  who  with  his  brother,  ran  her  for  several  years.  The  sloops 
Catherine  and  Packet  followed  after  the  Truth  commenced,  and  were 
for  several  years  her  contemporaries.  The  Catherine  was  commanded 
by  Joseph  Sawtle,  and  was  subsequently  wrecked  on  the  "  back  side." 
Daniel  Cook  and  afterward  Jonathan  Hill  were  the  commanders  of 
the  Packet.  In  1827  Jonathan  Cook  bought,  at  Saybrook,  Conn.,  the 
sloop  Louisa.  She  was  regarded  as  a  very  fine  craft  and  continued  on 
the  route  under  the  command  of  Captain  Cook,  and  of  his  son,  Charles 
A.  Cook,  until  about  the  year  1847.  The  latter  afterward  procured 
the  sloop  Osceola  and  engaged  with  her  in  the  business. 

Not  far  from  this  time  the  schooner  yacht  Northern  Light  was 
bought,  and  commanded  by  Captain  Whitman  W.  Freeman,  who  ran 
her  to  and  from  Boston,  from  March  to  December,  three  times  each 
week — something  never  before  nor  since  accomplished  by  any  craft. 
In  1848  the  Northern  Light  was  sold  to  go  to  California,  and  was 
wrecked  and  totally  lost  in  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  on  her  voyage  out. 
Another  vessel  was  bought  for  Captain  Freeman — the  schooner  yacht 
Oleata,  a  fast  and  trim  craft;   but  she  was  soon  sold  to  New  Orleans 


122  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

parties  for  a  pilot  boat.  Afterward  the  sloop  Sarah,  and  the  Powhat- 
tan.  Captain  Jonathan  Hill,  were  some  time  on  the  route.  About  1835 
the  schooner  Long  Wharf  was  placed  on  the  route,  commanded  bv 
Captain  William  Cook,  and  later,  the  schooner  Melrose.  She  went  on 
a  fishing-  cruise  some  years  later  and  was  wrecked  in  Bay  Chaleur. 
The  schooner  Waldron  Holmes  was  for  some  time  a  contemporary 
packet  with  the  Melrose.  Following  these,  came  the  schooner  Golden 
Age  from  Wellfleet,  which  was  commanded  by  Captain  Nehemiah 
Nickerson.  She  was  wrecked  off  Wood  End  in  1866.  In  1867  the 
schooner  Nellie  D.  Vaughan  was  procured  for  Captain  Nickerson,  and 
she,  too,  was  lost  near  Watch  Hill,  in  1888,  during  the  latter  part  of 
her  career  being  in  charge  of  Captain  Joseph  C.  Smith. 

The  sailing  craft  have  by  no  means  had  this  business  to  themselves, 
the  steamers  coming  upon  the  route  at  different  times  and  taking  the 
most  lucrative  portion  of  the  traffic,  and  finally  supplanting  the  pio- 
neer class  of  vessels.  About  the  year  1847  the  steamer  Naushon  vras 
placed  on  the  route,  running  not  only  to  Provincetown,  but  touching 
other  ports  in  the  bay  between  here  and  Boston.  She  ran  two  seasons 
and  received  a  fair  patronage.  N.  P.  Willis;  who  was  a  passenger  from 
Provincetown  on  one  occasion,  wrote  a  very  graphic  and  entertaining 
account  of  the  trip.  The  Naushon  was  followed  by  the  steamer  Acorn, 
whose  history  has  been  already  sketched.  She  was  sold,  in  1861,  for 
a  blockade  runner,  and  was  run  down  by  one  of  the  national  war  ves- 
sels, and  was  planted  where  she  never  came  up,  on  the  sands  upon  the 
coast  of  North  Carolina.  In  1863,  the  commodious  steamer,  George 
Shattuck,  Captain  Gamaliel  B.  Smith,  commenced  running,  and  contin- 
ued on  the  route  until  1874,  when  she  was  sold  to  run  in  a  packet  line 
between  St.  John,  N.  F.,  and  Quebec.^  In  1886,  the  steamer  Longfellow, 
Captain  John  Smith,  commenced  her  trips  between  Provincetown  and 
Boston.  She  is  a  craft  of  about  fiOO  tons  burthen,  shapely,  convenient 
and  well  built,  and  serves  the  traveling  public  to  the  general  satis- 
faction, and  has  no  competition  in  the  business. 

The  Stage  Coaches. — The  transmission  both  of  intelligence  and 
of  individuals  from  one  locality  to  another  are  so  intimately  connected 
and  so  interwoven  that  we  are  constrained  to  consider  the  two 
together.  The  earliest  couriers  known  to  the  Cape  were  the  swift- 
footed  Indians,  who  in  1627,  when  the  Sparrow  Hawk  was  wrecked  at 
Nauset  harbor,  carried  the  intelligence  to  Plymouth  several  days  be- 
fore the  messengers  sent  by  the  captain  of  the  shipwrecked  vessel  to 
apprize  the  settlers  of  their  distressing  situation  arrived  there  with 
their  message.  The  first  express  or  mail  of  record  on  the  Cape  was 
in  1654,  when  the  governor  of  Plymouth  colony  paid  John  Smith  for 
carrying  letters  from  Plymouth  to  Nauset.  For  nearly  150  years,  the 
dependence  of  private  citizens  for  the  transmission  of  letters  was  upon 


TRAVEL  AND   TRANSPORTATION.  123 

such  casual  travelers  as  chance  happened  to  throw  in  the  way.  But 
the  exigencies  of  the  times  required  some  system  of  more  speedy  com- 
munication between  different  communities,  and  in  1775  the  following 
mail  route  was  established  from  Cambridge,  through  Plymouth  and 
Sandwich,  to  Falmouth,  once  a  week: 

"  Plan  of  riding  from  Cambridge  to  Falmouth:  To  set  off  from  C. 
every  Monday  noon  and  leave  letters  with  William  Watson  Esq.,  post- 
master at  Plymouth,  on  Wed.  9  o'clock  A.  M.:  then  to  Sandwich  and 
leave  letters  with  Mr.  Joseph  Nye  3d,  Wed.  at  2  o'clock  p.  M.;  to  set  ofiF 
from  S.  at  4  o'clock  and  leave  letters  with  Mr.  Moses  Swift,  at  Fal- 
mouth, Thurs,  at  8  o'clock  a.  m.  To  set  off  on  his  return  Thurs.  noon, 
and  reach  Sandwich  at  5  o'clock,  and  set  off  from  thence  at  6  o'clock 
Friday  morning  and  reach  Plymouth  by  noon;  to  set  off  from  Ply- 
mouth Fri.  at  4  P.  M.,  and  leave  his  letters  with  Mr.  James  Winthrop, 
postmaster  in  Cambridge  on  Saturday  evening." 

The  first  United  States  mail  between  Barnstable  and  Boston  com- 
menced running  in  1792,  when  John  Thacher,  of  Barnstabe,  contracted 
with  the  government  to  perform  the  service,  and  made  the  first  trip 
October  1st  of  that  year.  Timothy  Pickering  was  postmaster  general, 
and  Jonathan  Hastings  postmaster  of  Boston.  The  post  rider  used  to 
start  on  horseback  from  Barnstable  Tuesday  morning,  and  arriving  at 
Plymouth  in  the  evening,  stopped  in  that  town  over  night.  The  next 
night  he  arrived  in  Boston  at  the  sign  of  the  Lion,  on  Washington 
street,  and  delivered  his  mail  to  the  postmaster.  Starting  from  Boston 
Thursday  morning,  he  arrived  in  Barnstable  on  Friday  night.  The 
mail  was  easily  carried  in  one  side  of  a  pair  of  saddle-bags,  and  the 
other  side  was  devoted  to  packages  and  an  occasional  newspaper.  For 
his  ser\-ice  in  carrying  the  mail  the  sum  of  one  dollar  per  day  while 
in  actual  service  was  paid.  Small  as  this  amount  is,  there  was  a  great 
outcry  at  the  extravagance  of  the  government  in  this  respect. 

In  1797  a  weekly  mail  route  was  established  from  Yarmouth  to 
Truro,  the  latter  being  regarded  as  an  important  town;  but  it  was  not 
considered  of  consequence  enough  to  continue  the  service  to  Province- 
town.  OfiBces  were  established  all  along  the  route  between  Yarmouth 
and  Truro.  The  next  step  in  the  progress  of  mail  facilities  was  the 
establishment  in  1812-15  of  a  postal  line  twice  each  week,  as  far  as 
Yarmouth.  Ebenezer  Hallet  was  the  post-rider,  and  the  stirring  news 
from  the  seat  of  war  was  the  moving  cause  of  this  enlargement  of  mail 
facilities.  In  1820  the  mail  was  brought  to  Barnstable  and  Yarmouth 
three  times  a  week,  through  the  influence  of  the  large  number  of  ship 
owners  a-nd  ship  captains  resi'ding  there.  This  arrangement  continued 
until  June,  1837,  when  a  daily  mail  was  established  to  come  as  far  as 
Yarmouth.  In  the  fall  of  1854,  soon  after  the  establishment  of  rail- 
road facilities,  the  mails  were  brought  to  Sandwich,  Barnstable  and 


124  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Yarmouth  twice  each  day,  and  following  the  progress  of  the  railroad 
to  other  towns  in  the  county  came  the  same  postal  facilities  to  the 
towns  which  the  railroad  line  reached.  A  daily  mail  from  Yarmouth 
to  Orleans  was  established  in  October,  1847. 

Postal  communications  with  Provincetown  are  supposed  to  have 
been  opened  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  century.  The  first 
postmaster  is  said  to  have  been  Orsimus  Thomas,  but  the  precise  date 
of  his  appointment  is  not  known.  The  Massachusetts  Register  for 
1808  gives  the  name  of  the  postmaster  at  Provincetown  as  D.  Pease. 
When  the  mail,  which  was  conveyed  on  horseback  once  each  week, 
was  about  to  start  from  town,  a  man  was  sent  around  with  a  tin  horn 
to  give  notice  of  the  fact.  Samuel  Thacher  of  Barnstable  was  the 
first  contractor  so  far  as  is  now  known.  Mr.  Thacher's  mail  was  car- 
ried in  saddle  bags  holding  about  a  peck.  It  was  considered  a  dis- 
tinction to  have  a  letter  in  the  mail.  About  1820  a  petition  was  in 
circulation  in  the  lower  towns  to  have  a  mail  twice  a  week,  but  many 
refused  to  sign  it,  on  the  ground  of  expense,  and  because  once  a  week 
was  often  enough.  In  the  winter  the  mail  carrier  used  to  carry  on 
one  side  of  his  horse  a  saw,  and  on  the  other  a  small  axe,  to  clear  away 
obstructions  after  the  snow  storms,  when  it  was  found  necessary  to 
cross  the  fields. 

Mr.  Thacher  was  succeeded  by  Joseph  Mayo  of  Orleans.  Mr. 
Mayo  used  to  take  his  mail  to  the  Pamet  river,  Truro,  on  horseback. 
Crossing  the  foot-bridge,  he  took  another  horse  on  the  opposite  side 
and  proceeded  to  Provincetown,  returning  by  the  same  route.  By 
this  plan  he  saved  three  miles  each  way  through  a  sandy  road.  A 
daily  mail  was  established  prior  to  1847.  Mr.  Mayo  was  the  first  to 
place  a  covered  carriage  on  the  route  as  far  as  Wellfleet,  in  1838. 
Succeeding  Mr.  Mayo,  Myrick  C.  Horton  was  carrier  and  contractor, 
and  after  him  Simeon  Higgins. 

A  stage-coach  line,  to  transport  passengers  as  well  as  the  mails,  was 
first  run  near  the  close  of  the  last  century — according  to  the  best  evi- 
dence obtainable,  about  the  year  1790.  This  line  ran  at  first  from 
Plymouth  to  Sandwich,  and  was  by  gradual  steps  extended  toward 
the  extremity  of  the  Cape.  It  had  been  established  many  years  be- 
fore William  E.  Boyden  became  the  proprietor  of  the  line,  in  1820. 
He  commenced  by  starting  from  Sandwich  early  each  morning,  and 
making  a  round  trip  between  Falmouth  and  Plymouth.  After  a  trial 
of  three  months  he  was  obliged  to  desist,  and  then  made  the  trip  from 
Sandwich  to  Plymouth,  and  another  carriage  from  Falmouth  took  the 
mail  at  Sandwich  for  the  former  town. 

In  a  few  years  a  line  was  put  on  the  route  between  Sandwich  and 
Falmouth.  For  many  years  these  stages  were  run  by  mail  contractors 
Charles  Sears  and  Enoch  Crocker,  the  terminus  of  the  route  being  at 


TRAVEL  AND   TRANSPORTATION.  125 

the  famous  tavern,  afterwards  dignified  by  the  appellation  of  hotel, 
kept  by  the  former  person. 

.  The  stage  ride  from  the  Cape  to  Boston  was  a  two  days'  affair  until 
the  opening  of  the  railroad  line  to  Plymouth,  and  was  not  resorted  to 
except  in  cases  of  extreme  urgency,  and  at  times  when  the  state  of 
the  weather  rendered  communication  by  the  packets  impracticable. 
Many  persons  who  had  lived-  to  a  good  old  age  and  had  been  all  over 
the  world  had  never  been  to  Boston  by  land.  But  among  those  who 
had  traveled  this  route  existed  many  interesting,  and  in  some  respects 
pleasurable,  recollections  of  the  trip.  Starting  from  the  Cape  at  early 
dawn,  the  parties  made  up  of  men  of  all  stations  and  degrees  in  the 
social  scale,  the  stage-coach  was  an  equalizing  and  democratic  institu- 
tion. The  numerous  stopping-places  along  the  route  gave  ample  op- 
portunity for  the  exchange  of  news  and  opinions  and  to  partake  of 
the  good  cheer  of  the  various  taverns — for  they  had  no  hotels  nor 
saloons  in  those  days.  Cornish's,  at  South  Plymouth,  Swift's,  at  West 
Sandwich,  Fessenden's,  at  Sandwich,  Rowland's,  at  West  Barnstable, 
Crocker's,  at  Barnstable,  and  Sear's,  at  Yarmouth,  are  pleasantly  re- 
membered by  the  old  people  of  the  present  generation.  A  good  meal 
and  a  hot  toddy,  in  the  days  before  the  temperance  movement  had 
been  inaugurated,  left  pleasant  recollections  of  the  place  left  behind, 
and  excited  agreeable  anticipations  of  the  next  one  to  come. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  Cape,  below  Yarmouth, a  postal  route  was 
established  to  Harwich  in  the  spring  of  1804,  Ebenezer  Broadbrooks 
being  the  first  postmaster;  and  a  few  years  later  it  was  extended  ta 
Chatham,  and  offices  opened  in  South  Yarmouth  and  South  Dennis. 
Samuel  D.  Cliflford  of  Chatham  carried  the  mails  in  1826  and  for 
some  time  thereafter,  on  horseback.  One  route  was  from  Yarmouth, 
to  South  Dennis,  West  Harwich,  Harwich,  Chatham,  and  Orleans;  the 
other  was  from  Yarmouth  to  South  Yarmouth,  Hyannis,  Osterville, 
Cotuit,  South  Sandwich,  and  Sandwich.  Barnabas  B.  Bangs  was  the  con- 
tractor for  carrying  the  mails  to  Provincetown,  sub-letting  from  Orleans 
to  that  place.  The  mail  stages  which  were  run  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Cape  from  Yarmouth  were  driven  by  Jacob  Smith,  who  was  also  a 
contractor,  and  Calvin  B.  Brooks,  who  was  a  somewhat  notorious 
trader  in  horses,  well  remembered  for  his  sharp  remarks  and  his 
rather  sharp  practices,  making,  nevertheless,  few  real  enemies  among 
his  victims.  For  the  years  before  the  advent  of  the  cars,  the  contract- 
or on  the  Chatham  and  Yarmouth  line  was  Rufus  Smith;  from  Yar- 
mouth to  Orleans,  Simeon  Higgins;  and  from  that  town  to  Province- 
town,  James  Chandler,  and  afterward  Samuel  Knowles. 

From  Hyannis,  (^entreville,  and  other  shore  villages  to  Sandwich^ 
Dea.  James  Marchant  ran  three  trips  per  week,  from  1836  to  1840.  He 
was  followed  successively  by  Eli  Hinckley,  Gorham  F.  Crosby  and. 


126  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

John  F.  Cornish.  From  Hyannis  to  Nantucket,  from  1826  to  1830, 
the  mails  were  carried  in  a  packet  by  Freeman  Matthews.  There- 
after, for  many  years,  until  1872,  the  mails  and  passengers  were  taken 
by  sailing  vessels  and  steamer  to  Nantucket,  the  steamers  being  with- 
drawn upon  the  opening  of  Woods  Holl  railroad. 

Those  veteran  whips  Nickerson  and  Howes  continued  to  serve  the 
Chatham  public  until  the  opening  of  the  railroad  to  that  town,  and 
for  nearly  a  year  after  the  road  was  in  full  operation  the  old  contract- 
ors continued  to  run  the  mail  carriage.  With  the  retirement  of 
"  Whit "  and  "  Sim,"  by  which  names  everybody  knew  these  contract-, 
ors,  the  last  of  the  stages  on  Cape  Cod  were  withdrawn,  for  the  car- 
riages which  transport  mails  and  passengers  to  and  from  Cotuit,  Os- 
terville  and  Centreville  via  West  Barnstable,  and  Mashpee  and  vicinity 
via  Sandwich,  do  not  resemble  the  old-time  stages  of  the  fathers,  such 
as  the  elders  of  this  generation  knew  when  they  were  girls  and 
boys. 

The  short  lines  between  towns  and  from  the  central  villages  to 
smaller  ones,  have  frequently  been  found  too  minute  for  this  general 
chapter.  These  postal  routes  and  mail  lines  will  therefore  be  men- 
tioned in  the  chapters  devoted  to  the  towns  where  the  routes  were 
established  and  run. 

Previous  to  the  opening  of  the  Woods  Holl  road,  the  Boston  mails 
were  carried  for  many  years  by  David  Dimmock,  of  Pocasset,  and 
afterward  by  William  Hewins.  of  Falmouth,  the  terminus  of  the  line 
after  the  opening  of  the  Cape  Cod  railroad  being  at  Monument  (now 
Bourne).  A  ferry  was  established  from  Falmouth  to  the  Vineyard, 
running  daily,  wind  and  weather  permitting,  during  the  twenty  years 
preceding  the  establishment  of  railroad  and  steamboat  communica- 
tions. The  first  grant  was  given  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  to  Joseph 
Parker  and  others,  and  it  was  continued  by  their  successors  until  quite 
recent  times. 

After  the  construction  of  the  Woods  Holl  branch,  the  only  remain- 
ing stages  were  the  Chatham  line,  supplying  that  town  and  the  inter- 
mediate villages  to  Harwich,  with  their  mails  and  passenger  trans- 
portation, and  the  Mashpee  route,  by  which  the  villages  of  Mashpee, 
South  Sandwich  and  Greenville  are  supplied. 

Railroad  Lines. — Railroad  communication  to  the  Cape  was 
opened  in  1848,  by  the  extension  of  the  line  between  Boston  and 
Middleboro,  under  the  charter  granted  to  the  Cape  Cod  Branch  Rail- 
road Company,  from  Middleboro  to  Sandwich,  a  distance  of  twenty- 
seven  miles.  The  first  board  of  directors  of  this  line  was  -constituted 
as  follows:  Richard  Borden,  Joshua  B.  Tobey,  Philander  Washburn, 
P.  G.  Seabury,  Nahum  Stetson,  Southworth  Shaw,  T.  G.  Coggshall, 
Howard   Perry,  Clark  Hoxie.     Richard  Borden  was  the  first  presi- 


TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  127 

dent,  and  Southworth  Shaw,  clerk.  The  road  was  extended  to  Hy- 
annis  in  1854;  the  first  passenger  train  commenced  running  May  19th 
of  that  year.  This  extension  was  eighteen  miles  long  and,  including 
the  wharf  at  Hyannis  and  the  equipments  of  the  road,  the  cost  of  the 
entire  extension  from  Middleboro  to  Hyannis  was  $824,057.99.  The 
Cape  Cod  Central  railroad  was  opened  from  Yarmouth  to  Orleans,  a 
distance  of  18f  miles,  December  6,  1865.  The  first  directors  of  this 
road  were:  Prince  S.  Crowell,  Joseph  Cummings,  Reuben  Nickerson, 
Joseph  K.  Baker,  Truman  Doane,  Chester  Snow,  Elisha  Bangs,  Ben- 
jamin Freeman  and  Freeman  Cobb.  Prince  S.  Crowell  was  president, 
and  Jonathan  Young,  clerk  and  treasurer.  The  next  extension  of 
this  road  was  to  Wellfleet,  twelve  miles  farther,  December  28,  1870, 
and  from  thence  to  Provincetown,  fourteen  additional  miles,  July  22, 
1873.  The  "openings"  of  these  sections  were  celebrated  with  great 
demonstrations  of  rejoicing  in  the  several  towns  to  which  they  were 
extended,  as  placing  the  communities  of  the  Cape  in  more  direct  re- 
lations to  the  outside  world. 

The  consolidation  of  the  Cape  Cod  branch  and  the  Cape  Cod  Cen- 
tral roads,  in  1868,  before  the  final  extension  to  Provincetown,  under 
the  name  of  the  Cape  Cod  Railroad  Company,  was  followed,  in  1872, 
by  the  union  of  the  latter  company  with  the  Old  Colony  railroad — 
the  entire  line,  from  Middleboro  to  Provincetown  being  known  as  the 
Cape  Cod  division.  The  Woods  Holl  branch,  seventeen  miles  in 
length,  between  Buzzards  bay  and  Woods  Holl,  was  opened  to  travel 
July  18, 1872.  A  branch  line  of  seven  miles,  from  Harwich  to  Chat- 
ham, opened  October,  1887,  completes  the  railroad  system  of  the 
county.  The  steam  cars  now  penetrate  every  town  of  the  fifteen,  ex- 
cept Mashpee,  gfiving  our  citizens  two  opportunities  each  day  to  go  to 
and  return  from  Boston,  during  the  entire  year,  and  in  some  seasons 
communications  are  maintained  over  portions  of  this  division  three 
times  each  way  daily.  The  first  superintendent  of  the  Cape  Cod 
branch  was  Sylvanus  Bourne,  of  Wareham.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Ephraim  N.  Winslow,  with  headquarters  at  Hyannis.  Mr.  Winslow 
was  succeeded  by  the  present  incumbent,  Charles  H.  Nye,  as  assistant 
superintendent  of  this  division,  who  commenced  service  on  the  road 
as  conductor  in  1857.  Previous  to  that  time,  Mr.  Nye  had  been  iden- 
tified with  the  beginning  of  the  enterprise,  having  canvassed  for 
subscriptions  of  stock  for  the  road  as  early  as  1847-8,  and  actually 
collecting  the  first  money  paid  for  subscriptions  in  the  county. 
There  is  no  one  living  so  intimately  connected  with  the  road  from 
its  inception  to  the  present  time  as  Mr.  Nye. 

As  the  supplement  to  the  mail  postal  arrangements,  and  as  the 
lastest  feature  in  our  postal  system,  came  the  postal  car  service,  which 
was  introduced  about  the  year  1855.     Cyrus  Hicks  of  Boston  was  the 


128  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

first  postal  clerk  and  the  only  one  at  first,  leaving  Boston  in  the  morn- 
ing for  Hyannis  and  returning  in  the  afternoon.  One  mail  pouch  was 
sufficient  for  the  letters,  and  a  limited  number  of  pouches  for  the 
newspaper  mail,  where  now  from  eighty  to  120  per  day  are  required 
for  the  newspaper  mail  alone.  The  service  now  consists  of  eight  rail- 
way postal  clerks,  two  running  entirely  through  each  way  between 
Boston  and  Wellfleet  on  both  the  trains,  and  receiving  and  distribut- 
ing the  mails  at  every  post  office  on  the  line  and  its  connections.  The 
following  are  the  clerks  now  in  service  on  this  route.-  John  W.  Allen, 
Joseph  M.  White,  William  W.  Johnson,  Henry  O.  Cole,  Frank  M. 
Swift,  George  A.  Roundy,  S.  Alexander  Hinckley,  T.  Winthrop  Swift.' 

Express  Lines. — When  the  railroad  was  extended  to  Sandwich  in 
1848,  the  Cape  Cod  Express  was  started  by  Messrs.  Witherell  &  Boy- 
den,  proprietors.  Mr.  Witherell  was  thrown  from  a  carriage  and  died 
soon  after  from  injuries  received,  when  Nathaniel  B.  Burt  formed  a 
partnership  with  Mr.  Boyden,  which  continued  until  the  death  of  the 
former.  In  1861,  Rufus  Smith,  who  had  established  a  stage  line  be- 
tween Yarmouth  and  Chatham,  took  the  mails  and  express,  which  he 
continued  to  transport  until  1866,  when  the  road  was  extended  to  Or- 
leans, and  Mr.  Smith  had  an  express  privilege  on  the  cars  for  his 
mails,  and  furnished  teams  and  stages  for  all  the  stations  for  passen- 
gers, mails  and  express.  In  1868,  the  Central  having  been  purchased 
by  the  Cape  Cod  Branch  Railroad  Company,  the  express  business  was 
sold  to  Boyden,  Burt  and  Smith,  in  equal  parts.  In  July,  1877,  the 
New  York  &  Boston  Despatch  Express  Company  were  permitted  to 
cover  the  line,  and  after  two  and  one-half  years  of  competition,  the  two 
concerns  were  united  and  are  known  as  New  York  &  Boston  Despatch 
and  Cape  Cod  Express  Company. 

Magnetic  Telegraphs,  Cables,  etc. — Telegraphic  communica- 
tion between  the  Cape  and  Boston  was  established  in  1865.  Two 
companies  were  competitors  for  the  privilege  of  occupying  the  field, 
which  before  had  been  vacant.  The  Boston  &  Cape  Cod  Marine 
Telegraph  Company  got  a  few  weeks  ahead  in  its  construction,  and 
on  September  28,  1855,  the  Yarmouth  Register  was  enabled  to  publish 
the  news  of  the  fall  of  Sevastopol,  by  telegraphic  intelligence  received 
the  night  previous — a  fact  which  was  regarded  by  its  readers  with 
wonder  and  incredulity.  During  the  ensuing  fall  the  line  was  ex- 
tended to  Chatham  and  Provincetown.  The  rival  line,  called  the  Cape 
Cop  Telegraph  Company,  was  more  especially  under  New  York  aus- 
pices, and  the  patronage  of  the  Associated  Press.  The  first  named 
company,  which  had  been  operated  by  an  association,  was  incorpor- 
ated in  April,  1856,  and  was  organized  at  Barnstable  June  24th  of  that 
year.  George  Marston  was  the  first  president,  Charles  F.  Swift,  clerk 
and  treasurer,  and  John  T.  Smith,  of  Boston,  superintendent.     The 


TRAVEL  AND   TRANSPORTATION.  129 

two  telegraph  lines  were  in  a  year  or  two  consolidated,  and  this  com- 
pany was  afterward  absorbed  by  the  all-devouring  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company. 

A  telegraphic  cable  was  early  in  1856  extended  from  Nobsque 
point,  in  Falmouth,  to  Gay  Head,  a  distance  of  3^  miles.  August  18, 
1856,  a  cable  fourteen  miles  long  was  laid  from  Monomoy  to  Great 
point,  on  Nantucket.  Communication  was  transmitted  to  and  from 
Nantucket  for  a  day  or  two,  but  the  cable  was  either  cut  or  broken  by 
the  force  of  the  channel,  and  after  a  short  time  abandoned.  In  185t*, 
Samuel  C.  Bishop,  a  gutta  percha  goods  manufacturer,  who  made  the 
last  named  cable,  laid  another  across  Muskeget  channel,  and  estab- 
lished telegraphic  communicationsbetweenEdgartown  and  Nantucket. 
There  were  frequent  obstructions,  caused  sometimes  by  imperfect  in- 
sulation, but  oftener  by  vessels'  anchors  fouling  with  the  cables,  and 
the  attempts  of  Mr.  Bishop  were  abandoned  in  1861.  Since  that  time 
several  abortive  attempts  to  maintain  cable  communications  with  the 
islands  have  been  made  by  the  existing  telegraph  companies,  but, 
from  the  causes  heretofore  mentioned,  have  been  unsuccessful.  Since 
1887,  congress  having  in  that  year  made  an  appropriation  to  maintain 
a  cable  from  Woods  Holl  to  Nantucket  via  the  Vineyard,  as  an  auxili- 
ary of  the  life-saving  service,  and  also  permitting  the  receipt  and 
transmission  of  commercial  messages,  communication  has,  with  occa- 
sional interruptions,  been  maintained  to  the  present  time. 

Telephone  service  to  the  Cape  was  established  in  1882,  when  aline 
was  constructed  and  ofi&ces  opened  in  West  Barnstable,  Osterville, 
Hyannis,  Cotuit,  and  Marston's  Mills.  The  New  Bedford  system,  as  it 
is  called,  was  connected  with  the  Cape  the  following  year  (1883),  cov- 
ering the  territory  above  described,  and  also  connecting  with  Sand- 
wich, Yarmouth,  Dennis,  Harwich,  Harwich  Port,  South  Chatham, 
Chatham,  Brewster,  Orleans,  Eastham,  North  Eastham,  Wellfleet, 
Truro,  South  and  North  Truro,  Beach  Point  and  Provincetown.  M. 
E.  Hatch  of  New  Bedford  is  the  general  manager. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


INDUSTRIAL    RESOURCES. 


The  Fisheries. — Coasting. — Shipbuilding. — Manufacturing. — Saltmaking. — Agriculture. 
— Cranberry  Culture. — Summer  Resorts. — Yachting. 


AN  important  part  of  the  history  of  any  people  is  the  resources 
upon  which  their  sustenance  has  depended  and  from  which 
their  wealth  may  be  derived.  The  reader  already  understands 
that  it  was  by  hardy,  practical  Englishmen  that  this  county  was,  for 
the  most  part,  first  settled.  Whatever  may  have  been  their  taste,  or 
their  training,  the  insular  position  of  the  place  they  adopted  as  their 
home  in  the  New  World,  rendered  maritime  pursuits  both  natural  and 
necessary.  They  knew  before  coming  here  that  the  Cape  possessed 
great  fertility,  and  that  agriculture  might  be  successfully  undertaken; 
but  when  the  home,  the  garden,  and  the  meadow  had  been  provided, 
they  naturally  turned  their  attention  to  those  vast  and  exhaustless 
food  supplies  with  which  the  surrounding  waters  so  richly  abounded. 
Thus  we  find  them  in  the  first  generations  daring  the  perils  of  the 
ocean  which  lay  so  invitingly  around  them,  and  which  promised  so 
rich  a  reward  to  any  who  would  undertake  its  conquest.  The  build- 
ing of  vessels  must  needs  receive  their  early  attention,  and  to  this  the 
forests  were  in  a  large  measure  sacrificed;  and  almost  in  proportion  as 
the  forests  disappeared  the  productiveness  of  much  of  the  lands  de- 
creased. 

As  their  intercourse  with  the  Dutch  along  the  Hudson  and  Long 
Island  sound  became  more  thoroughly  established,  the  tendency  was 
to  give  more  of  their  attention  here  to  the  various  branches  of 
fishing;  and  by  an  exchange  of  products  they  found  it  less  necessary 
to  cultivate  the  unfriendly  soil.  Thus  the  trend  of  affairs  in  the 
county  was  steadily  toward  those  maritime  pursuits  which  for  more 
than  two  centuries  since  have  been  the  characteristic  and  the  pride  of 
Cape  Cod.  The  love  of  adventure  is  hereditary,  and  if  the  fathers 
caught  codfish  at  the  Grand  banks,  the  sons  were  satisfied  with  nothing 
less  than  taking  whales  in  the  Pacific.  And  as  generation  succeeded 
generation  their  energy  and  enterprise  increased  until  a  portion  of 
the  life  of  nearly  every  able-bodied  man  was  passed  upon  the  sea. 


INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCES.  131 

There  were  probably  then  no  people  in  the  New  World  whose  em- 
ployments were  more  varied,  or  whose  resources  were  more  widely 
diversified  than  were  those  of  the  people  who  for  the  first  century 
occupied  this  Cape.  Their  fields  gave  liberal  reward  for  their  toil, 
and  on  every  hand  were  the  still  more  productive  waters  of  the  sea. 
Thus  all  those  pursuits,  which  may  be  generally  classed  as  fishing, 
have  been  a  perpetual,  although  a  varying,  fountain  of  wealth.  The 
superior  advantages  for  fishing,  which  Provincetown  offered  in  1620, 
were  observed  by  the  Pilgrims,  and  the  practical  whalemen  among 
them  expressed  their  belief  that  with  proper  facilities  they,  from  the 
taking  of  whales  alone,  could  have  made  a  most  profitable  return  for 
the  whole  voyage.  As  early  as  1666  the  Plymouth  court  imposed 
upon  the  Cape  Cod  fisheries  a  duty,  for  revenue  only,  with  which  a 
public  school  was  to  be  established,  and  with  the  proceeds  of  stranded 
whales  they  oiled  the  machinery  of  church  and  state. 

The  codfishing  on  North  American  coasts  received  the  attention  of 
Europe  almost  immediately  after  the  Cabots'  explorations.  The 
abundance  of  this  fish  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Cape  has  been 
noticed,  and  is  forever  recorded  in  the  name  which  the  peninsula 
bears.  In  1622  the  Plymouth  Company  complained  to  the  king,  of 
thirty-seven  English  ships  which  had  made  successful  fishing  voyages 
to  the  New  England  coast,  whereupon  all  fishing,  or  Indian  trading, 
was  prohibited  on  these  shores  except  by  license  from  the  council  of 
Plymouth.  The  right  to  control  this  industry  gave  to  the  colony, 
first,  franchises  for  which  they  received  ;^1,800  from  the  merchant 
adventurers,  and  later  those  royalties  and  revenues,  the  collection  of 
which  in  the  various  towns  the  reader  will  hereafter  notice.  ' ' 

For  a  century  and  a  half  this  branch  of  fishing  grew  in  importance 
and  the  extent  of  waters  visited  by  the  Cape  fishermen  included  the 
Bay  of  Fundy,  the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  and  the  surrounding 
straits.  An  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  the  people  of  this  country  de- 
pended upon  this  resource  may  appear  from  the  following  figures, 
showing  the  annual  average  of  five  towns  for  the  ten  years  preceding 
the  revolution.  These  figures  are  from  Macgregor's  tables,  a  standard 
English  authority:  Chatham  had  thirty  vessels  of  thirty  tons  each  en- 
gaged in  the  business  and  employed  240  men,  taking  12,000  quintals. 
Provincetown  had  four  vessels  of  forty  tons  each,  employing  thirty- 
two  men,  who  took  16,000  quintals.  Eighty  men  with  ten  vessels  of 
forty  tons  each,  sailing  from  Truro,  took  4,000  quintals.  Wellfleet 
had  three  vessels  operated  by  twenty-one  men  who  secured  900  quint- 
als. Yarmouth  had  thirty  vessels  of  thirty  tons  each,  in  which  180 
men  secured  9,000  quintals. 

When  the  colonists  in  1776  appealed  to  the  uncertain  arbitrament  of 
war,  these  maritime  interests  suffered  most,  but  so  promptly  did  they 


132  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

resume  their  peaceable  pursuits  after  the  declaration  of  peace  that  the 
averages  of  the  four  years,  including  and  preceding  1790,  are  equal  to 
the  yearly  average  for  the  decade  preceding  the  war.  Provincetown 
had  greatly  increased  her  vessels  and  tonnage,  sending  out  eleven, 
with  an  average  of  fifty  tons,  in  which  eighty -eight  men  secured  8,200 
quintals  of  cod  annually. 

The  business  of  the  cod  fishermen  has  been  a  permanent  and  gen- 
erally a  profitable  one,  and  their  product  has  long  been  one  of  the 
staple  food-supplies  of  the  world.  Off  every  shore  of  the  Cape  more 
or  less  are  caught,  but  the  greater  supply  is  to  the  north  and  east. 
The  records  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  show  that  in  the  census 
year  1837  there  were  taken  134,658  quintals  of  cod  by  the  fishermen  of 
Barnstable  county.  Of  these  Provincetown  caught  61,400  quintals; 
Orleans,  20,000;  Truro,  16,620;  Chatham,  15,500;  Harwich,  10,000;  Den- 
nis, 9,141;  Yarmouth,  4,300;  Wellfleet,  3,100;  Sandwich,  2,100;  Eastham, 
1,200;  Brewster,  800;  and  Barnstable;  the  least,  267  quintals. 

In  1845  Provincetown  secured  20,000  quintals;  Harwich,  14,200; 
Dennis,  11,150;  Chatham,  7,600;  Truro,  6,250;  Yarmouth,  6,195;  Orleans, 
3,500;  Brewster,  2,400;  Eastham  and  Wellfleet,  each  2,000;  and  Fal- 
mouth, 800  quintals. 

The  next  decade  showed  Provincetown  catching  79,000  quintals 
annually;  with  Chatham  next  in  order,  taking  15,000;  Wellfleet,  8,628; 
Barnstable,  8,225;  Harwich,  6,300;  Yarmouth,  4,400;  Orleans,  4,266; 
Dennis,  1,200;  Eastham,  300;  and  Falmouth,  250  quintals. 

In  the  census  year  1865  Provincetown  reported  a  catch  of  65,411 
quintals,  followed  by  Chatham,  with  25,361;  Harwich,  20,938;  Dennis, 
7,769;  Barnstable,  1,938;  Orleans,  1,350;  Wellfleet,  1,200;  Truro,  670; 
Yarmouth,  500;  and  Eastham,  130  quintals. 

In  1875  the  Provincetown  fleet  reported  for  the  census  year  29,936 
quintals;  Chatham,  16,773;  and  Yarmouth,  62  quintals. 

While  other  branches  of  fishing  are  common  to  all  the  towns  of  the 
county,  the  cod  fishing  is  more  extensively  carried  on  from  Province- 
town.  In  1887  the  Provincetown  fleet  took  120,000  quintals;  in  1888 
fifty -seven  vessels,  employing  nine  hundred  men,  secured  90,000  quint- 
als; and  the  season  of  1889  yielded  but  50,000  quintals  to  the  forty- 
nine  vessels  and  the  eight  hundred  men  employed.  These  latter  fig- 
ures indicate  the  least  prosperous  season  which  the  fleet  has  had  in 
twenty  years.  In  the  early  days  of  the  business  a  crew  consisted  of 
six  or  eight  men,  but  larger  vessels  were  found  to  be  better,  and  dur- 
ing the  recent  years  schooners  with  twenty-five  men  each  are  more 
generally  in  use.  Their  season  at  the  Grand  banks  is  usually  from 
April  to  September,  and  it  has  been  expected  that  during  this  period 
the  fleet  would  secure  two  hundred  quintals  of  fish  for  each  man  em- 
ployed. 


INDUSTRIAL   RESOURCES.  133 

According  to  the  state  census  of  1885,  the  cod  fleets  from  Barn- 
stable county  took  18,134,539  pounds  of  fish.  Provincetown  took 
16,801,060;  Chatham,  756,009;  Harwich,  415,160;  Truro,  112,050;  Or- 
leans, 28,560;  Dennis,  20,700;  and  Barnstable,  2,000  pounds. 

The  first  people  who  pursued  the  whale  fishery  as  a  regular  busi- 
ness were  the  Biscayans,  who  carried  it  on  with  success  from  the 
twelfth  to  the  fourteenth  century;  although  the  Norwegians  had 
taken  whales  cast  on  the  Shetland  and  Orkney  coasts  at  a  much  earlier 
period.  The  northern  whale  fishery  was  opened  up  by  the  Dutch  and 
English  after  their  voyages  of  discovery,  and  as  early  as  1680  the 
Dutch  whale  fishery  reached  its  most  prosperous  state,  employing  then 
260  ships  and  fourteen  thousand  sailors.  Prior  to  this,  houses  pro- 
vided with  tanks  and  boilers  for  reducing  the  blubber  and  preparing 
the  bone,  were  established  on  the  northern  coast  of  Spitzbergen. 

The  American  whale  fishery  was  commenced  at  Nantucket,  where 
in  1672,  James  Lopar  and  John  Savage  were  given  a  subsidy  of  land 
and  a  third  interest  with  the  town  in  the  business  of  securing  the 
whales  which  came  to  their  shores.  The  people  of  Cape  Cod  had 
become  proficient  in  securing  and  utilizing  the  whale,  and  in  1690 
Ichabod  Padduck  of  Provincetown  was  considered  an  expert  in  meth- 
ods of  capturing  the  whale  and  extracting  the  oil.  He  went  to  Nan- 
tucket, where  his  instructive  descriptions  of  his  successful  methods 
were  dignified  with  the  name  lectures. 

The  more  enterprising  white  settlers,  assisted  by  the  more  vent- 
uresome Indians,  made  trips  in  open  boats  beyond  the  sight  of  land, 
and  when  a  whale  was  killed,  with  such  rude  weapons  as  his  size  had 
suggested,  he  was  towed  ashore,  where  the  tedious  process  of  securing 
the  oil  was  carried  on.  The  blubber  was  conveyed  on  carts  to  "  try- 
houses,"  where  in  kettles  the  oil  was  extracted.  Fifty  years  before 
the  revolution,  Boston  was  exporting  large  quantities  of  whale  prod- 
ucts; and  the  towns  of  the  Cape,  and  the  court  of  Plymouth  were  col- 
lecting revenues  from  the  stranded  whales  found  on  their  shores.  The 
introduction  of  larger  vessels,  equipped  with  apparatus  for  cutting  up 
the  blubber,  marked  a  new  era  in  the  industry,  although  a  single 
whale,  producing  250  barrels  of  oil  and  3,000  pounds  of  bone,  made  a 
cargo  for  what  was  then  called  a  good  sized  vessel,  and  the  practice  of 
bringing  the  blubber  to  the  "  try -houses  "  on  shore  still  prevailed. 

The  equipping  of  larger  ships,  with  furnaces  for  rendering  and 
casks  for  storing  the  oil,  marked  a  third  epoch  in  the  history  of  the 
great  whaling  industry,  and  with  facilities  thus  increased  the  fields  of 
operation  were  enlarged.  In  July,  1730,  the  North  American  whale- 
men sent  9,200  tuns  of  oil  and  154  tons  of  bone  to  England. 

The  whaling  grounds  at  Davis'  straits  were  first  visited  by  whalers 
in  1746;  Baffin's  bay  in  1751;  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  1761;  eastern  banks 


134  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

of  Newfoundland,  1765;  Brazilian  coasts  in  1774.  The  introduction  of 
the  New  England  product  into  the  markets  of  England  furnished  a 
motive  to  that  government  for  granting  its  own  seamen  a  large  bounty 
to  stimulate  the  whale  industry,  and  under  that  impulse  the  produc- 
tion increased  more  rapidly  than  the  demand,  and  thus  the  profits  to 
American  whalemen  were  greatly  diminished. 

In  1771  Barnstable  county  had  thirty-six  vessels  engaged  in  the 
whale  fishery.  Of  these,  two  were  from  Barnstable,  employing  thir- 
teen seamen  each,  and  for  the  four  years  preceding  the  revolution  they 
secured  240  barrels  of  oil  each  year;  Falmouth  equipped  four  vessels 
of  seventy-five  tons  each,  and  brought  in  400  barrels  annually;  while 
Wellfleet  had  thirty  vessels,  with  a  total  tonnage  of  2,600,  employing 
420  men,  taking  annually  4,600  barrels. 

The  war  here  interrupts  the  chain  of  statistics,  which  would  cer- 
tainly show  that  the  industry  was  neglected  during  the  struggle.  It 
was,  however,  soon  revived,  and  in  1787-1789  this  county  had  sixteen 
whale  vessels  engaged,  whose  total  tonnage  was  1,120,  and  whose  212 
seamen  secured  1,920  barrels  of  oil  annually. 

Captain  Jesse  Holbrook  of  Wellfleet,  who  flourished  in  revolution- 
ary days,  was  a  skillful  whaler,  and  in  one  voyage  killed  fifty-two 
sperm  whales.  His  great  success  obtained  for  him  employment  by  a 
London  company  for  twelve  years,  teaching  their  employees  his  art. 
After  a  checkered  career  he  returned  to  Wellfleet  in  1796,  where  he 
subsequently  died,  aged  seventy  years. 

The  whalers'  voyages,  at  first,  scarcely  taking  them  beyond  sight 
of  their  own  ports,  came  later  to  be  passages  of  thousands  of  miles, 
requiring  ten  to  fifty  months,  and  sometimes  longer,  to  complete. 
The  men  who  gained  wealth  or  renown  in  this  hazardous  vocation 
were  the  grave,  persevering,  sober  men,  who  represented  the  best 
blood  of  the  Cape;  and  those  venerable  retired  captains  who,  in  their 
advancing  years,  still  remain  in  almost  every  Cape  town,  constitute 
one  of  the  most  substantial  elements  of  the  population.  In  the  histo- 
ries of  the  towns  in  which  they  reside  the  reader  may  find  record  of 
some  thrilling  adventures  in  the  experience  of  Captains  Nathaniel 
Burgess,  Silas  Jones,  Caleb  O.  Hamblin,  N.  P.  Baker,  Edward  Penni- 
man  and  others,  which  are  illustrative  of  the  life  that  whaleship 
masters  were  obliged  to  lead. 

Falmouth  early  became  an  important  town  in  this  business,  and 
from  Woods  Holl  several  ships  were  equipped  and  sent  to  the  Pacific 
and  Arctic  whaling  grounds.  The  details  of  their  voyages  more  fully 
appear  in  the  history  of  the  town  of  Falmouth  in  this  volume.  The 
business  from  the  other  whaling  ports  of  the  lower  Cape  was  still 
more  extensive,  but  the  details  as  given  of  the  voyages  from  the  port 
of  Woods  Holl  furnish  a  general  idea  of  the  whalemen's  experiences, 


INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCES.  136 

and  the  decline  of  the  industry  there,  may  be  a  fair  indication  of  when 
and  how  rapidly  the  attention  of  the  Cape  people  was  turned  to  other 
pursuits. 

In  1834  Falmouth  had  six  whale  ships  at  sea,  and  in  1837  had  nine, 
the  total  tonnage  of  which  was  2,823;  in  1845  her  vessels  numbered 
five,  with  an  average  tonnage  of  315;  in  1855  three  whalers  were  re- 
ported as  securing  $55,000  worth  of  oil.  Provincetown,  in  1837,  had 
only  two  whale  ships  out;  in  1841  six  vessels  returned,  bringing  1,065 
barrels  of  oil;  in  1843  sixteen  vessels  from  here  were  on  whaling  voy- 
ages; in  1845  twenty -six  vessels,  with  a  tonnage  of  3,255,  secured  during 
the  census  year  $102,984  worth  of  oil;  in  1855  seventeen  vessels  were 
in  the  business,  reporting  $118,833  earnings  for  the  year;  in ,  1865 
twenty-eight  vessels  reported  oil  worth  $312,017;  and  in  1885  the  town 
had  only  three  vessels  thus  engaged.  For  the  census  year  1855  Or- 
leans reported  four  vessels  of  155  tons  each,  employing  125  men,  and 
securing  oil  to  the  amount  of  $19,250.  Thus  as  the  vocation  became 
less  profitable,  and  its  prosecution  imposed  greater  hardships  upon 
those  who  followed  it,  the  Cape  people  gradually  dropped  out  of  it  or 
went  in  those  ships  which  later  on  still  sailed  from  New  Bedford. 

Soon  after  the  development  of  the  cod  fisheries,  the  taking  of  mack- 
erel became  a  very  important  and  lucrative  vocation,  and  from  the 
first  until  the  present  moment  it  has,  after  the  cod  fishery,  furnished 
regular  employment  and  a  source  of  revenue  to  more  of  the  people 
than  has  any  other  branch  of  fishing.  In  the  taking  of  these  fish  the 
most  scientific  methods  are  employed,  and  the  habits  of  the  fish  have 
been  most  thoroughly  and  systematically  investigated.  Fishing  for 
mackerel  with  hook  and  line  was  for  many  years  a  regular  employ- 
ment, and  the  aged  fishermen  now  maintain  that  a  workman's  share 
was  then  worth  more  than  one  has  averaged  since  the  introduction  of 
methods  requiring  expensive  outfits,  in  which,  of  course,  capital  has 
come  in  for  a  larger  relative  share. 

The  most  sweeping  change  made  in  the  method  of  capture  was  the 
introduction  of  the  purse  seine,  by  which  whole  schools  of  them  may 
be  surrounded  off  shore,  in  any  depth  of  water,  and  speedily  trans- 
ferred to  the  boats.  Before  this  a  similar  seine  had  been  used  only  in 
shoal  water,  where  the  seine  would  sweep  the  bottom.  These  sweep 
seines  were  usually  two  hundred  fathoms  long  and  three  or  four  deep, 
but  since  the  deep-water  seining  has  been  found  practicable,  the  seines 
in  use  have  been  made  somewhat  longer  and  five  or  six  times  as  wide, 
and  hundreds  of  barrels  of  mackerel  are  taken  at  a  single  draught. 
This  was  a  new  idea  in  1853,  at  which  date  it  is  said  that  Isaiah  Baker 
first  practiced  it  successfully  off  the  south  shores  west  of  Monomoy. 
This  wholesale  taking  of  mackerel,  although  highly  profitable  to  those 
engaged  in  it,  is  now  the  generally  assigned  reason  of  the  disastrous 


136  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

decline  of  the  business.  Other  causes  have  surely  contributed  to,  and 
possibly  may  have  predominated  in  producing  this  result.  The  fish, 
not  less  than  the  men  who  pursue  them,  are  creatures  with  habits  and 
tastes  which  are  continually  changing,  and  coincident  in  time  with 
their  decrease  on  the  Atlantic  coasts,  is  their  appearance  in  unusual 
numbers  in  other  and  distant  waters. 

Until  within  the  last  few  years  the  annual  migrations  of  the  mack- 
erel from  south  to  north  and  return  have  been  computed  with  cer- 
tainty and  relied  upon  "by  the  fleets  pursuing  them.  Chiefly  from 
Wellfleet,  but  more  or  less  from  Dennis,  Harwich  and  other  towns, 
the  boats  went  south  to  meet  the  great  schools  of  this  erratic  fish  at 
Chesapeake  bay  in  March  or  April,  and  followed  them  in  their  season's 
course  as  they  skirted  their  feeding  grounds  along  the  Atlantic  coast 
as  far  northeast  as  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  as  late  as  September.  Then 
the  fish  began  their  return  and  were  followed  by  the  fleet  until,  oflf 
Block  island  in  November,  the  men  usually  began  their  own  home- 
ward journey.  For  the  last  two  or  three  seasons  the  movements  of 
the  mackerel  have  been  less  regular,  and  several  vessels  have  made 
the  entire  season  in  the  vicinity  of  Block  island.  The  belief  that  the 
immense  catches  by  the  purse  seiners  were  hazarding  the  future  of 
the  business,  has  taken  form  as  a  law,  now  prohibiting  their  capture 
by  this  method  before  the  first  of  June  in  any  year. 

The  people  of  every  town  have  been  more  or  less  interested  in  the 
mackerel  fisheries.  A  regular  inspection  of  all  that  is  brought  to  port 
is  provided  for  by  law,  and  the  reports  of  the  inspectors  are  filed  as 
public  records.  Some  figures  may  indicate  how  widely  and  yet  how 
unequally  the  business  is  distributed. 

In  1838  there  were  inspected  at  Barnstable,  1,843  barrels;  at  Chat- 
ham. 84  barrels;  at  Dennis,  2,674;  at  Provincetown,  2,686;  at  Truro,  8,852; 
and  at  Yarmouth,  655  barrels. 

At  this  time  the  Wellfleet  men  were  taking  quantities  of  this  fish, 
but  the  absence  of  the  name  from  the  statistics  quoted  is  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  the  fish  were  packed  at  Boston. 

The  industry,  although  permanent,  is  fluctuating.  In  1840  there 
were  inspected  at  Barnstable,  1,914  barrels;  at  Chatham,  240;  at  Dennis, 
3,009;  at  Harwich,  60;  at  Provincetown,  2,086;  at  Truro,  2,790;  at  Well- 
fleet,  3,912;  and  at  Yarmouth,  1,387  barrels  were  inspected.  In  1844 
Wellfleet  secured  9,700  barrels;  Truro,  6,740;  Dennis,  3,605;  Yarmouth. 
3,412;  Barnstable,  2,400;  Orleans  and  Provincetown,  1,000  each;  Har- 
wich, 650;  Eastham,  550;  and  Chatham,  400.  In  1854  the  catch  for 
Wellfleet  was  12,600  barrels;  for  Dennis,  11,036;  Provincetown,  6,000; 
Harwich,  5,700;  Chatham.  3,000;  Brewster,  1,500;  Yarmouth,  1,217;  Or- 
leans, 800;  Eastham,  750;  and  Barnstable.  465.  In  1864  Wellfleet  re- 
ported 26,900  barrels;  Provincetown,  19,395;  Dennis,  8,799;  Harwich^ 


INDUSTRIAL   RESOURCES.  137 

8,343;  Truro,  7,955;  Chatham,  6,746;  Orleans.  2,000:  and  Yarmouth,  250. 
The  censu.s  of  1875  shows  that  the  total  catch  of  the  preceding  year 
was  98,774  barrels,  of  which  Provincetown  received  46,173;  Wellfleet, 
35,817;  Chatham,  8,342;  Dennis,  6,000;  Eastham,  1,082;  Barnstable,  860 
and  Orleans,  511  barrels.  In  1884  Wellfleet  received  38,735  barrels 
Provincetown,  32,066;  Chatham,  10,765;  Truro,  9,527:  Dennis,  9,422 
Harwich,  6,050;  Brewster,  3,444;  Sandwich,  2,178;  Eastham,  1,762;  Or- 
leans, 166;  Falmouth,  94;  Yarmouth,  2;  and  Barnstable,  1  barrel.  The 
price  has  generally  varied  inversely  and  somewhat  proportionately 
with  the  supply,  so  that  the  fluctuations  in  quantity  are  greater  than 
in  the  current  value  of  the  catch. 

For  several  years  Wellfleet  has  been  most  extensively  engaged  in 
t..e  mackerel  business,  sending  out  in  1879  twenty-four  vessels,  which 
brought  in  9,348  barrels;  in  1880,  thirty  vessels  took  33,627  barrels;  in 
1881,  thirty-one  took  35,627;  in  1882,  twenty-nine,  32,860;  in  1883, 
thirty-four,  15,725;  in  1884,  thirty,  36,784;  1886,  twenty-nine,  23,144; 
1886,  twenty-nine,  3,566;  1887,  twenty-eight,  9,203;  1888,  thirty,  4,832; 
and  in  1889  thirteen  seiners  and  eight  hookers  took  1,690.  The  other 
Cape  ports  making  returns  for  1889  are  Provincetown,  1,697  barrels; 
Dennis,  469;  Harwich,  224;  and  Chatham,  17.  The  rapid  decline  during 
the  last  four  years  has  brought  the  business  to  its  lowest  point  within 
the  past  seventy-five  years. 

An  interesting  topic  of  thought  and  investigation  is  suggested  by 
the  changes  constantly  going  on  in  the  demand  for  as  well  as  the 
supply  of  the  various  food  products.  This  change  through  which  one 
generation  comes  to  subsist  upon  foods  which  their  ancestors  did  not 
regard  as  wholesome,  is  continually  tending  to  modify  the  industries 
and  the  resources  of  the  prodiicing  classes,  and  here  in  the  various 
branches  of  fishing  this  tendency  has  been  manifested.  Scores  of 
kinds  of  fish  once  unknown  are  now  sought  for. 

The  facts  concerning  thfe  bluefish  furnish  the  most  striking  illus- 
tration of  this  tendency.  Middle-aged  men  well  remember  when  this 
fish  was  so  little  valued  that  those  which  were  caught  simply  for 
amusement  became  a  drug  on  the  market.  In  Wellfleet  bay,  for  in- 
stance, it  was  no  unusual  occurrence  for  a  fisherman  with  only  a  hook 
and  line  to  take  in  a  few  hours  a  hundred  bluefish  of  ten  or  fifteen 
pounds  each.  Then  such  a  fish  would  hardly  bring  ten  cents  in  the 
market;  but  people's  tastes,  continually  changing,  have  within  thirty 
years  put  them  among  the  favorite  sea  fish.  They  are  taken  in^eater 
or  less  quantities  off  every  shore  of  the  county,  and  while  their  cap- 
ture has  been  the  source  of  royal  revenues  to  the  fishermen,  it  has 
also  long  been  a  standard  sport  with  pleasure  seekers.  The  waters  of 
the  sound  are  dotted,  every  season,  with  the  sails  of  bluefishers.  Con- 
sidering the  subject  as  the  Yankee  is  prone  to  consider  every  subject, 


138  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

it  must  be  classed  with  the  most  profitable  branches  of  the  Cape  fish- 
eries, the  principal  quantity  being  taken  in  the  fish  weirs  and  with  gill 
seines  in  deep  water.  The  people  of  Eastham  have  regarded  it  as  their 
chief  source  of  income.  Their  weirs,  now  for  a  short  time  less  profit- 
able, have  formerly  yielded  very  handsome  returns. 

In  1884  nearly  587  tons  of  bluefish  were  landed  in  the  town  of 
Barnstable,  largely  at  Hyannis,  for  shipment  by  rail,  and  in  every 
town  some  were  taken.  In  Eastham,  367,938  pounds;  in  Provincetown, 
152,784  pounds;  Dennis,  91,870;  Bourne,  69,818;  Wellfleet,  33,700;  Chat- 
ham, 31,065;  Yarmouth,  30,806;  Falmouth,  24,435;  Truro,  23,002;  Har- 
wich, 18,827;  Brewster,  17,820;  Orleans,' 7,406;  Sandwich,  6,000;  and 
Mashpee,  294  pounds.  The  market  value  then  of  the  whole  bluefish 
catch  for  the  county  was  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  invention  of  the  modern  fish  weir  marked  an  important  period 
in  the  whole  business  of  shore  fishing,  and  began  that  controversy  be- 
tween the  line  and  seine  fishermen  which,  with  more  or  less  vigor,  has 
continued  to  the  present.  Individuals  and  corporations  are  engaged 
on  nearly  every  shore  in  the  weir  on  trap  fishing.  The  fish  weir,  or 
trap,  now  modified  to  various  plans  and  purposes,  was  first  used  by  its 
inventors  on  the  shores  of  Long  Island  sound.  AtMonomoy  Point  in 
Chatham,  where,  about  1848,  the  first  weir  on  these  shores  was  set,  at 
Woods  Holl  where  a  very  large  business  is  still  carried  on,  and  off 
the  shores  almost  around  the  entire  Cape,  especially  the  lower  towns, 
this  branch  of  enterprise  has  furnished  a  channel  of  investment  for 
large  amounts  of  capital  and  employment  to  considerable  numbers  of 
people,  whereby  both  capital  and  labor  have  for  the  most  part  been 
fairly  rewarded. 

Statistics  have  not  been  kept  to  show  the  methods  by  which  fish 
have  been  taken,  but  the  trap  fishing  is  relatively  important.  Prince 
M.  Stewart,  of  Woods  Holl,  says  that  he  caught  80,000  scup  in  one  trap 
within  one  hundred  days  preceding  Augxist  15th,  and  in  one  month 
following  caught  thirty-two  barrels  with  hook  and  line.  These  traps 
sometimes  serve  a  purpose  for  which  they  were  not  intended,  as  did 
one  off  South  Harwich  in  1889,  in  which  Cyrus  Nickerson  found  en- 
tangled a  turtle  reported  as  weighing  half  a  ton. 

In  1840  Massachusetts  produced  half  of  all  the  fish  products  of  the 
United  States.  At  that  date  Provincetown  had  a  thousand  people  en- 
gaged in  cod  and  mackerel  fishing.  Barnstable  had  $57,000  invested 
in  the  fish  business,  and  Dennis  had  $36,300.  In  1850  Provincetown 
led  all  the  other  Cape  towns  in  the  extent  and  value  of  its  fish  indus- 
tries. 

The  fishing  business  as  developed  in  this  county  has  rendered  com- 
binations of  -men  and  capital  necessary,  and  from  1815  many  such 
combinations  were  incorporated  by  the  state,  with  authority  to  improve 


INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCES.  139 

Streams,  wharves  and  harbors.  One  company,  incorporated  in  1817, 
had  authority  to  open  a  canal  from  Nauset  cove  to  Boat-meadow  creek. 
The  Duck  Harbor  and  Beach  Company  of  Wellfleet;  the  Union  Wharf 
Company  of  Truro;  the  Skinnequits  Fishing  Company  of  Harwich; 
the  Central  Wharf  Company  of  Yarmouth;  the  Eastham  Fishing  Com- 
pany; the  Union  Wharf  Company  of  Provincetown;  Rock  Harbor 
Fishing  Company  of  Orleans;  the  Andrews  Fishing  Company  of  Har- 
wich; the  Herring  River  Company  of  Harwich;  the  Brewster  Harbor 
Company;  the  Orleans  Fishing  Company;  the  North  Falmouth  Fish- 
ing Company;  the  Fish  Wier  Company  of  Orleans;  the  Boat-meadow 
River  Company  of  Eastham;  and  the  North  Wharf  Company  of  Truro, 
were  incorporated  prior  to  1838,  with  special  privileges. 

The  species  of  fish  and  the  fish  products  which  enter  into  the  totals 
of  this  great  industry  include  items  not  even  mentioned  by  name  thus 
far  in  this  chapter.  For  the  first  nine  monfhs  of  1889  the  Province- 
town  fishermen,  not  including  the  Grand  bank  cod-fishing  fleet,  brought 
in  fresh  cod,  6,159,850  pounds;  haddock,  5,258,759  pounds;  halibut, 
766,300  pounds;  hake,  1,270,600  pounds;  salt  cod,  336,700  pounds;  salt 
herring,  2,700  pounds;  frozen  herring,  257,000  herring;  cod  oil,  19,845 
gallons;  dog  liver  oil,  5,670  gallons;  fresh  mackerel,  1,541  barrels;  salt 
mackerel,  1,743  barrels;  fresh  herring,  11,528  barrels;  fresh  porgies, 
2,000  barrels;  fresh  flounders,  417  barrels;  fresh  butter  fish,  75  barrels; 
fresh  albocaas,  310  barrels;  fresh  pollock,  15,400  pounds;  total  value, 
$352,137. 

The  fishermen's  resources  are  by  no  means  limited  to  the  food 
fish.  The  waters  abound  in  species  not  considered  suitable  for  the 
table,  and  these  are  made  to  serve  some  humbler  purpose,  and  minis- 
ter, through  other  channels,  to  the  wealth  and  comfort  of  mankind. 

The  blackfish,  a  specie  of  whale,  occasionally  visits  the  shores  of 
Cape  Cod  bay.  For  a  century  past  we  find  the  record  of  their  frequent 
visitations  at  Provincetown,  Truro  and  Wellfleet,  where  they  are  se- 
cured for  their  oil.  They  go  in  schools  of  old  and  young,  numbering 
hundreds,  and  are  easily  driven  upon  the  beach  at  high  tide,  where 
they  are  killed  after  the  water  recedes.  Refineries  for  extracting  their 
oil  still  exist  at  Wellfleet  and  Provincetown.  The  males  are  some- 
times thirty-five  feet  long,  and  the  young  are  from  five  feet  upwards. 
An  average  of  a  barrel  of  oil  is  obtained  from  each.  The  remarkable 
school  of  1885,  captured  at  Wellfleet,  is  further  mentioned  in  the 
chapter  on  that  town. 

The  blackfish  yields  a  valuable  lubricating  oil,  and  from  porgies 
or  menhaden  an  oil  is  obtained  which  is  available  for  adulterating 
paint  oils,  while  the  bones  and  flesh  fibre  appear  in  the  market  as  a 
valuable  fertilizer.  With  various  additions  the  fish  refuse  becomes 
the  basis  of  fertilizers  known  in  the  markets  by  a  great  variety  of 


140  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

names.  The  fertilizer  works  at  Woods  Holl,  about  1863,  were  in- 
tended to  utilize  menhaden  scrap,  but  were  used  for  other  purposes 
after  the  supply  of  menhaden  in  the  adjacent  waters  had  diminished. 
The  use  of  fish  as  a  fertilizer  was  well  understood  and  largely  prac- 
ticed by  the  farmers  in  the  old  days.  Food  fish  were  so  abundant 
that  their  fields  were  kept  fertile  by  the  use  of  the  surplus.  Placing 
one  or  more  herrings  in  each  hill  of  corn  was  a  practice  so  general 
that  it  was  thought  to  hazard  the  food  supply,  and  was  accordingly 
at  one  time  prohibited  by  law.  Other  fish  applied  to  the  lands  just 
as  they  are  taken  from  the  waters  are  found  to  be  of  great  utility. 

Almost  every  stream  on  the  Cape  swarms  with  herring  in  the 
spawning  season.  The  right  to  take  them  was  reserved  by  the  origi- 
nal proprietors  as  a  common  privilege  when  they  reduced  their  com- 
mon lands  to  individual  ownership,  and  to-day  the  right  to  participate 
in  this  branch  of  fishery'in  any  stream  belongs  equally  to  every  free- 
holder in  the  respective  towns.  Some  of  the  towns  lease  this  privi- 
lege from  year  to  year  for  a  stipulated  sum,  thus  realizing  a  revenue 
for  the  general  uses  of  the  town.  This,  by  reducing  the  taxes  of  the 
town,  spreads  the  benefit  among  the  people  in  proportion  to  the  valu- 
ation of  their  property,  and  to  protect  the  rights  of  those  who  have 
but  little  taxable  estate,  most  of  the  towns,  in  leasing  the  herring 
rights,  fix  a  minimum  price  at  which  each  family  may  be  entitled  to 
a  supply  for  domestic  uses  from  those  who  lease  the  privilege. 

The  supply  of  the  various  kinds  of  shell-fish  has  always  been  a 
resource  of  considerable  importance.  Oysters,  clams,  quahaugs,  scal- 
lops, shrimps,  and  lobsters  are  the  more  abundant.  The  oyster,  so 
long  a  popular  food,  was  found  here  by  the  first  settlers,  who  made 
them  a  staple  article  of  diet.  The  great  use  which  the  Indians  made 
of  shell-fish  is  evinced  by  the  immense  heaps  of  shells  which  now, 
partially  covered,  are  the  best  existing  records  of  the  location  of  their 
principal  settlements.  The  latter  part  of  last  century  marked  an 
epoch  in  the  oyster  industry.  Implements  and  methods  employed  in 
taking  them  from  the  natural  beds  destroyed  large  quantities  of  the 
small  ones,  and  the  legislation  aimed  at  this  reckless  destruction  came 
too  late.  During  this  century  the  oyster  business  has  consisted  in 
transplanting  to  grounds  favorable  to  their  development,  oyster  seed 
from  other  localities.  They  have  been  common  in  Wellfleet  bay, 
where  the  once  famous  Wellfleet  oysters  were  taken,  in  the  coves  of 
Eastham,  Orleans  and  Chatham,  and  on  the  shores  of  all  the  towns  of 
the  upper  Cape.  In  the  palmy  days  of  the  Wellfleet  oyster  business, 
forty  or  fifty  sail  of  vessels  were  engaged  each  winter  in  transferring 
the  product  to  the  Boston  market. 

The  last  state  census  shows  that  Barnstable  county  has  562^  acres 
of  oyster  beds,  which  is  more  than  two-thirds  of  all  the  grounds  in 


INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCES.  141 

the  state.  Bourne,  on  its  Buzzards  bay  front,  has  168J  acres,  which  is 
nearly  all  the  native  beds  of  the  county,  and  has  also  124  acres  of 
planted  beds.  Barnstable  has  two  acres  of  native  and  249  of  planted; 
Chatham  has  ten  acres  of  planted;  Dennis  three  of  planted;  Mashpee 
3J  of  planted;  and  Harwich  has  three  acres  of  native  beds.  These 
beds  of  native  oysters  are  the  only  ones  in  Massachusetts,  excepting 
250  acres  at  Somerset,  in  Bristol  county.  This  census  report  does  not 
notice  the  beds  on  the  west  of  Waquoit  bay,  planted  in  1877,  where 
F.  C.  Davis  now  has  the  only  oyster  beds  in  Falmouth,  and  has  done 
an  increasing  business  during  the  last  year.  In  the  town  histories  of 
Bourne,  Barnstable,  Mashpee,  Chatham  and  Wellfleet,  their  cultiva- 
tion by  the  various  planters  is  noticed. 

By  that  inexorable  law  of  change  and  succession,  the  oyster  and 
the  oysterman  are,  so  far  as  these  shores  are  concerned,  slowly,  but 
surely,  passing  away.  Their  doom  is  the  shifting  sand,  and  the  busi- 
ness as  a  source  of  gain  or  general  employment  must  be  now  regarded 
as  among  the  things  that  have  been.  The  man  who  followed  this 
vocation  has  been  made  immortal  in  literature  by  Thoreau,  in  his  in- 
imitable description  of  the  Wellfleet  oysterman,  and  the  oyster  him- 
self has  made  a  pleasant  and  lasting  impression,  very  near,  if  not 
quite,  upon  the  hearts  of  all  who  knew  him. 

The  perennial  clam,  the  abundance  of  which  the  Pilgrims  made 
the  subject  of  thanksgiving,  still  abides  as  a  blessing  to  their  posterity. 
He  figures  in  all  the  affairs  here  except  politics — at  the  church  fair,  at 
the  picnic  dinner,  in  the  menu  of  every  well-regulated  hotel,  at  the 
rich  man's  feast,  and  at  the  poor  man's  board,  he  appears  in  various 
guises.  He  and  his  hard-shelled  cousin,  the  quahaug,  are  indigenous  to 
the  sands  of  every  shore.  Here  are  160  miles  of  shore  line,  greatly  in- 
creased by  indentations  of  coves  and  bays,  and  almost  throughout  this 
entire  stretch  of  tide-water  margins,  these  nutritious  shell-fish  are  in 
greater  or  less  abundance. 

The  business  of  clam-digging  calls  for  the  minimum  investment  of 
capital  and  the  maximum  employment  of  labor,  hence  it  has  ever  fur- 
nished employment  and  profit  to  many  whose  tastes  or  finances  de- 
terred them  from  embarking  in  other  fishing  enterprises.  The  old 
saying  that  there  is  no  royal  road  to  learning  is  equally  true  of  clam 
digging.  Any  man  or  boy  not  necessarily  well-dressed,  and  equipped 
with  a  short-handled  hoe  and  a  pair  of  long-handled  boots,  is  fully  pre- 
pared to  make  the  business  remunerative. 

The  various  branches  of  the  fishing  business  which  accustomed  the 
boys  to  the  sea  was  the  great  school  whose  graduates  became  the 
master  marines.  Every  product  of  the  sea  and  of  the  soil  made  cargo 
for  the  coasters,  whose  prosperity  began  so  early  in  the  Cape  history, 
and  continued  so  late.     Before  the  modem  railway,  this  coasting  busi- 


142  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ness  was  of  immense  importance  as  an  employment  for  capital  and 
labor.  Almost  every  port  had  its  craft  of  various  tonnage  engaged  in 
the  carrying  business.  From  the  first  the  building  of  their  vessels 
was  one  of  their  staple  industries,  and  long  after  the  local  supply  of 
material  had  been  exhausted,  ship  timber  was  brought  here,  and  the 
brain  and  muscle  of  the  Cape  people  converted  it  into  cash  through 
the  construction  of  staunch  ships  of  no  mean  proportions.  Since 
yachting  has  been  popular  small  craft  have  been  built  at  several  ports 
in  the  county;  but  these  enterprises,  as  well  as  the  building  of  larger 
vessels  earlier,  have  been  regarded  as  business  enterprises  of  the 
towns  or  villages  in  which  they  were  carried  on. 

The  records  of  the  state  bureau  of  labor  statistics  show  that  during 
the  five  years  preceding  1837  the  total  value  of  all  craft  built  in  the 
county  was  $316,790.  The  census  of  the  state  since  then  gives  the  fol- 
lowing figures:  In  1845  Barnstable  built  fifteen  vessels;  Chatham,  six; 
Falmouth,  eight;  Orleans,  six;  Provincetown,  150,  all  small  craft,  and 
Sandwich  one  vessel  of  four  hundred  tons,  worth  $15,000.  The  census 
year  1855  gives  Barnstable,  fifteen;  Chatham,  fifteen;  Harwich,  forty; 
and  Provincetown  seventy  small  craft.  Dennis  at  this  time  had  fifty 
people  employed, and  built  two  vessels  of  630  tons  each,  and  Falmouth 
one  of  260  tons.  In  1865  Barnstable  reported  four;  Harwich  fourteen; 
and  Provincetown  nineteen  small  boats,  built  withing  the  census  year. 
At  the  close  of  the  next  decade  it  appeared  that  Barnstable  was  build- 
ing ten  small  boats  each  year,  and  that  Provincetown  had  built  one 
worth  $11,420.  The  census  of  1885  showed  that  Barnstable  had  built 
in  the  preceding  year  seventeen  vessels,  worth  $6,377;  Bourne,  three, 
worth  $4,000;  Harwich,  eight,  worth  $2,000,  and  Provincetown,  thirty- 
nine,  worth  $6,800. 

Unless  the  building  of  boats  be  regarded  as  such,  manufacturing 
has  received  comparatively  little  attention  in  this  county.  Prior  to 
the  revolution,  however,  the  Cape  people  were  largely  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  cloth.  The  families  not  only  generally  made  their 
own,  but  the  Marston's  and  Winslow's  were  prominent  in  its  manufac- 
ture for  commerce.  In  1768  the  best  ladies  of  the  county,  as  well  as 
gentlemen,  were  dressed  in  homespun,  even  to  their  gloves.  Barn- 
stable and  Falmouth  were  the  principal  towns  engaged  in  making 
woolen  goods.  The  glass  factories  at  Sandwich,  the  brick  works  at 
West  Barnstable,  and  the  pants  factory  at  Orleans  and  Wellfleet,  the 
shoe  factory  at  West  Dennis,  the  guano  works  at  Woods  Holl  and  the 
oil  and  fertilizer  works  at  Wellfleet  and  Provincetown,  are  or  have 
been  local  enterprises,  and  will  receive  attention  in  the  several  village 
histories. 

In  yet  another  way  has  the  sea  contributed  to  the  wealth  of  Barn- 
stable county.     Here  350  gallons  of  its  waters  are  found  to  contain 


INDUSTRIAL   RESOUKCES. 


143 


one  bushel  of  salt.  It  was  during  the  revolution  that  the  first  prac- 
tical use  was  made  of  this  fact.  A  bushel  of  salt  in  1783  was  worth 
eight  dollars,  and  its  extraction  by  boiling  was  the  child  of  their 
necessity.  The  general  court,  six  years  before,  saw  fit  to  encourage 
its  manufacture  by  a  bounty  of  three  shillings  per  bushel.  As  the 
diplomatic  relations  which  led  to  the  war  of  1812  were  unsettling 
values,  and  salt  was  rising  rapidly  in  price,  works  were  erected  in 
various  parts  of  the  Cape,  where  salt  was  obtained  by  solar  evapora- 
tion. One  company  was  incorporated  in  1809,  and  in  1821  a  Wellfleet 
company  was  incorporated,  with  a  capital  of  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
Before  the  gradual  decline  of  the  business  began,  two  million  dollars 
were  at  one  time  invested  in  salt  works. 


Many  crude  methods  were  employed,  but  at  last  a  regular  Cape 
Cod  salt  works  consisted  of  one  or  more  wind  mills  for  pumping  the 
water,  and  a  series  of  pine-plank  vats  to  receive  it.  These  vats,  usu- 
ally nine  inches  deep  and  from  twelve  to  twenty  feet  square,  were 
furnished  with  movable  covers  that  their  contents  might  be  exposed 
to  the  sun  or  shielded  from  the  rain.  Several  plans  of  vats  and  cov- 
ers were  in  use,  each  serving  this  general  purpose.  First,  the  covers 
were  made  to  slide  to  and  fro  on  suitable  ways;  next,  they  were  so 
made  as  to  be  swung  to  and  from  their  places;  and  finally  this  idea 
was  elaborated  and  the  double  revolving  covers  came  into  use.  In 
1803,  John  Sears,  of  East  Dennis,  proposed  an  improvement  in  vats 


144  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

and  covers,  which  for  years  bore  the  name  of  Sears'  Folly.  As  the 
process  of  evaporation  progressed,  which  required  weeks  to  complete, 
the  brine  was  conducted  from  the  first  vats,  called  water-rooms,  into  a 
second  range  called  pickle-rooms,  where  the  lime  was  removed  and 
the  crystals  commenced  forming.  Then  the  brine  was  run  into  other 
vats,  called  salt-rooms,  where  the  crystalization  went  on  until  salt 
could  be  raked  out  and  placed  in  warehouses  to  dry. 

The  first  public  record  regarding  this  industry,  in  details  by  towns, 
is  the  state  census  of  1837;  and  since  that  time  the  number  of  people 
employed,  capital  invested,  bushels  produced,  number  of  establish- 
ments engaged  in  its  manufacture,  and  the  value  of  the  product,  have 
been  ascertained  for  each  state  census. 

Barnstable  in  1837  had  thirty-four  establishments,  producing  an- 
nually 27,125  bushels;  in  1845,  twenty-four,  producing  21,000;  in  1855, 
eleven,  producing  10,550;  and  in  1865,  three,  producing  3,382  bushels. 

Brewster  in  1837  had  sixty  different  works,  producing  34,500  bush- 
els; in  1845,  thirty-nine,  producing  20,500;  in  1855,  seventeen,  produc- 
ing 5,000;  and  in  1865,  twelve,  producing  5,000  bushels. 

Chatham  had  eighty  plants  in  1837,  which  produced  27,400  bush- 
els; in  1846,  fifty-four,  producing  18,000;  and  in  1855,  fourteen,  pro- 
ducing 3,300  bushels. 

Dennis  in  1837  produced  from  114  establishments,  52,200  bushels; 
in  1845,  from  eighty-five  establishments,  34,600;  in  1855,  the  town 
produced  19,800  bushels;  in  1865,twenty-three  plants  produced  15,- 
275;  and  in  1885,  one  person  made  300  bushels. 

Eastham  in  1837  had  fifty-four  establishments,  that  produced  22,- 
370  bushels;  in  1845.  thirty-five  produced  17,320;  in  1855,  twenty-eight 
produced  13,722,  and  in  1865,  the  nine  works  made  4,575  bushels. 

Falmouth  in  1846  had  forty-two  salt-works,  producing  24,600  bush- 
els; in  1855,  fifteen  works  made  9,000  bushels;  and  in  1866  the  four 
remaining  plants  produced  2,800  bushels. 

Harwich  had  eight  different  salt  works  in  1837,  and  produced 
4,000  bushels;  half  as  many,  in  1845,  made  450,  and  in  1855  one  indi- 
vidual made  140  bushels. 

Orleans  had  fifty  plants  in  1837,  which  turned  out  21,780  bushels; 
in  1845,  forty-six  establishments  made  17,072;  in  1856,  nineteen  plants 
made  10,126;  and  in  1865,  fifteen  plants  produced  4,740  bushels. 

Provincetown  had  seventy-eight  salt  works  in  1837,  employing  an 
average  of  two  men  to  each,  and  producing  48,960  bushels;  in  1846, 
seventy  plants  made  26,000  bushels  of  salt;  in  1855,  five  plants  made 
2,304;  and  in  1865  the  only  remaining  plant  produced  200  bushels. 

Sandwich,  in  1837,  had  eight  plants,  producing  2,670  bushels; 
and  in  1845  the  number  and  their  product  had  diminished  one 
half. 


INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCES.  145 

Truro  made  17,490  bushels  of  salt  in  1837  at  thirty-nine  establish- 
ments; in  1845  its  twenty-five  salt  makers  produced  11,515;  and  in 
1855,  fifteen  works  produced  5,078  bushels. 

Wellfleet  had  thirty-nine  of  these  works  in  1837,  which  produced 
10,000  bushels;  in  1845  the  twenty-eight  works  produced  6,000;  in 
1855,  thirteen  plants  turned  out  40,000;  and  in  18d5,  five  plants  pro- 
duced 7,000  bushels. 

Yarmouth,  which  was  long  prominent  in  this  industry,  had  fifty- 
two  plants  in  1837,  from  which  365,200  bushels  were  produced;  in 
1845,  sixty-five  plants  made  74,065  bushels;  in  1855,  forty-two  plants 
produced  27,650  bushels;  in  1865,  nineteen  made  13,780;  in  1875,  three 
plants  only  remained  in  operation  in  the  town;  and  in  1885  the  re- 
maining one,  operated  by  one  man,  produced  but  1,200  bushels. 

Glauber  salts  were  at  one  time  marketed,  but  the  low  price  of  that 
article  made  its  manufacture  unprofitable,  and  it  was  thereafter  al- 
lowed to  dissolve  and  pass  into  the  bittern.  This  bittern  or  resi- 
duum began  to  be  utilized  in  the  manufacture  of  carbonate  and 
calcined  magnesia  about  the  year  1850.  The  manufacture  of  Epsom 
was  continued  at  South  Yarmouth  until  the  year  1888  when,  for 
the  first  time  in  seventy-six  years,  the  salt-mills  along  the  shore 
of  Bass  River  ceased  to  revolve  and  the  business  of  salt  making  was 
discontinued.     A  view  of  these  ruins  is  at  page  143. 

So  generally  have  the  villagers  in  the  many  hamlets  of  the 
county  made  salt-making  a  part  of  their  business  that  we  have 
classed  it  as  a  local  enterprise,  and  in  the  several  town  histories 
have  given  detailed  accounts  of  the  hundreds  of  these  plants. 
The  increase  in  value  of  the  pine  for  making  the  vats  was  a  check 
upon  the  business.  The  supply  was  largely  from  Maine,  when 
most  of  the  works  were  built,  and  since  the  decline  of  the  indus- 
try much  of  the  lumber  in  these  salt  works  has  been  used  in  the 
construction  of  dwelling-houses  and  other  buildings.  Between  Hy- 
annis  and  West  Dennis,  some  of  the  vats,  with  their  dilapidated 
covers,  yet  stand,  seemingly  in  memory  of  a  departed  industry 
which  gave  employment  to  many  and  proved  a  blessing  to  the 
localities  in  which  it  flourished. 

The  most  ancient  branch  of  induslry,  and  one  not  subject  to  the 
dangers  of  the  waves,  is  that  of  agriculture,  in  which  the  first  settlers 
engaged,  and  which  is  largely  carried  on  at  the  present  time.  The 
alluvial  deposits  of  the  north  shore  from  Buzzards  bay  to  Eastham, 
where  the  first  settlements  of  the  Cape  were  made,  were  highly  pro- 
ductive; and  history  has  recorded  that  Nauset  was  the  granary  of  the 
Pilgrims,  years  before  the  white  man  disturbed  the  virgin  soil.  The 
cultivation  of  these  lands,  as  soon  as  a  spot  could  be  cleared  or  the 
fields  of  the  natives  obtained,  was  the  natural  labor  of  the  pioneer. 
10 


146  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Wheat  and  corn  were  the  principal  productions  for  many  years,  but 
the  production  of  the  former  declined  prior  to  1700,  because  mildew 
injured  the  crop  for  several  successive  years.  The  wheat  product  was 
again  increased  during  the  first  half  of  last  century,  but  during  this  it 
has  ceased  to  be  one  of  the  productions  of  the  county.  Corn,  rye,  oats, 
potatoes,  and  roots,  in  some  towns,  have  long  been  and  still  are  the 
staple  crops,  but  as  the  major  part  of  the  people  now  pursue  more 
lucrative  avocations  on  the  sea,  the  quantity  of  vegetable  food  re- 
quired by  the  inhabitants  is  not  grown  within  the  county  limits. 

The  hay  of  the  salt  meadows  early  induced  the  settlers  to  remove 
here,  and  it  has  since  been  a  staple,  spontaneous  product.  English 
hay  was  early  sought  as  a  product  of  the  soil,  and  in  its  steady  in- 
crease has  become  one  of  the  largest  and  most  profitable  of  the  field. 
Sheep  husbandry  was  an  early  industry  of  the  county.  The  sheep 
were  allowed  to  run  at  large,  ranging  through  the  brush  and  woods 
of  the  central  portions  of  the  Cape,  and  not  until  the  commencement 
of  the  present  century  did  this  branch  of  industry  cease  to  be  remu-. 
nerative;  and  even  later  small  flocks  were  kept,  the  product  of  which 
found  a  place  in  the  round  of  domestic  economy.  In  the  commence- 
ment of  the  growth  of  sheep  husbandry  laws  were  enacted  that  no 
sheep  should  be  sold  out  of  the  colony,  for  the  violation  of  which  law 
a  heavy  penalty  was  prescribed.  Cattle  raising  has  kept  pace  with 
other  branches  of  the  business  of  the  farm,  and  has  always  proved 
remunerative.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  cattle  and  horses  has 
been  more  rapid  during  the  present  century  than  previously,  amount- 
ing in  1879  to  quite  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars.  The  average 
area  of  the  individual  farms  in  this  county  is  small,  but  in  various 
towns  and  during  all  the  past  generations  records  and  tradition  point 
to  the  growing  of  profitable  crops.  Fertilizers  of  various  kinds  are 
used,  but  in  the  use  of  the  refu.se  of  the  salt  marshes  and  the  fish,  this 
county  possesses  advantages  over  those  inland;  still,  phosphates  and 
fertilizers  are  imported,  the  cost  in  1880  being  $4,623. 

Fruit  growing  has  received  much  attention,  and  not  only  have 
many  farms  well-set,  thrifty  Orchards  of  varied  fruits,  but  nearly  every 
home  spot  has  its  variety.  The  many  orchards  of  one  hundred  years 
ago  still  exist  here  and  there  over  the  county,  and  there  are  cases  of 
still  greater  longevity.  The  pear  tree  planted  by  Governor  Prince  in 
Eastham,  where  he  settled  in  1644,  lived  two  centuries,  and  has  passed 
away  within  the  remembrance  of  middle-aged  residents. 

The  last  government  statistics  placed  the  number  of  Barnstable 
county  farms  at  979,  of  which  some  are  small  and  some  are  dairy 
farms;  but  in  the  general  products  of  field  culture,  when  relatively  con- 
sidered with  other  New  England  counties,  this  is  far  from  the  bottom 
of  the  column.     The  interest  in  the  industry  is  evinced  by  the  annual 


INDUSTRIAL   RESOURCES.  147 

fairs,  and  the  important  society  for  the  advancement  of  agriculture 
in  its  various  branches,  of  which  particulars  may  be  found  in  Chapter  V. 
The  branch  of  this  industry  now  receiving  the  most  attention  and 
from  which  the  largest  revenue  is  derived,  is  cranberry  culture. 
To  the  product  of  this  berry  a  vast  number  of  bogs  and  lowlands  have 
been  transformed  from  a  condition  of  seeming  worthlessness  to  the 
most  valuable  land  of  the  county.  These  bogs  for  generations  have 
quietly  rested  on  every  farm  of  the  Cape,  there  receiving  the  richness 
of  the  .surrounding  higher  lands,  while  in  themselves  they  were 
accumulations  of  the  most  fertile  vegetable  mould — but  useless  to  the 
owner.  The  cranberry  grew  in  these  in  a  wild  state,  and  until  half 
a  century  ago  the  fruit  was  carelessly  passed  as  of  no  utility.  Its 
present  appreciation  by  the  civilized  nations  of  both  hemispheres  is 
another  attesting  circumstance  of  the  change  in  tastes  and  customs 
which  so  revolutionizes  the  industries  of  a  people. 

Much  speculation  and  many  conflicting  statements  are  at  hand  re-i 
garding  the  time,  place,  and  circumstance  in  which  this  great  industry 
had  its  beginning  on  the  Cape.  At  North  Dennis,  about  1816,  one 
Henry  Hall  owned  a  piece  of  low  land  on  which  wild  cranberries 
grew.  Adjoining  this  were  beach  knolls,  from  which,  after  the  cut- 
ting of  some  small  timber,  the  sand  was  blown  upon  the  vines.  This, 
instead  of  injuring  the  berries  of  which  he  had  made  some  use,  was 
found  to  greatly  improve  them  as  they  sprang  up  through  the  lighter 
parts  of  the  sand  covering;  and  thus  is  believed  to  have  originated 
the  idea  so  fundamental  in  their  successful  cultivation.  So  little  was 
this  fruit  prized,  even  at  its  best,  that  it  was  many  years  before  any 
considerable  use  was  made  of  this  accidental  discovery.  In  the  mean- 
time William  Sears,  now  living,  and  his  father  Elkanah,  set,  at  East 
Dennis,  some  vines  for  their  own  use,  and  others  in  those  vicinities 
soon  after  followed  the  example;  but  no  one  thought  of  making  any 
commercial  use  of  the  berry.  Benjamin  F.  Bee,  of  Harwich,  says  that 
Isaiah  Baker  set  a  few  square  rods  to  cranberries,  at  West  Harwich, 
before  1840;  but  this  experiment,  whatever  its  date,  shared  the  fate  of 
all  that  were  made  prior  to  1847.  In  1844  and  1845  Alvan  Cahoon, 
then  sailing  a  vessel  from  North  Dennis,  saw  the  Henry  Hall  vines 
and  how  they  were  improved  by  the  sand  covering,  and  in  1846  he  set 
eight  rods  to  berries  at  Pleasant  lake,  in  Harwich;  and  in  1847,  the 
now  venerable  Cyrus  Cahoon  prepared  and  set,  at  Pleasant  lake,  one- 
fourth  of  an  acre.  These  dates  are  fully  authenticated,  and  mark  the 
period  from  which  may  be  dated  cranberry  culture  in  Barnstable 
county. 

Several  years  elapsed  before  the  business  yielded  anything  like 
profit  to  anyone.  About  the  time  the  experiments  were  being  made 
at  Pleasant  lake,  Zebina  H.  Small  set  a  little  plot  at  Grassy  pond. 


148  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

where  he  lost  the  four  hundred  dollars  which  he  invested.  Later,  he 
adopted  a  diflferent  system  from  any  then  in  use,  and  became  a  suc- 
cessful grower,  probably  among  the  very  first,  in  point  of  time,  to 
make  the  business  profitable.  In  his  biography,  in  the  chapter  on 
Harwich,  his  early  beginning  in  the  culture  of  cranberries  is  noticed, 
and  diligent  search  among  his  accounts  and  records  has  not  revealed 
a  more  definite  date  than  is  there  given.  During  his  lifetime  Mr. 
Small  was  regarded  by  some  as  the  original  cranberry  man  of  his 
town,  and  unquestionably,  was  among  the  very  first  to  experiment. 
We  have  noticed  with  exact  dates  those  early  experiments  at  Pleasant 
lake.  A  work  on  cranberry  culture,  written  by  Joseph  J.  White,  pub- 
lished in  1870  by  Orange  Judd  &  Co.,  contains  a  letter  over  Mr.  Small's 
name,  under  date  of  February,  1870,  in  which  he  says  that  his  first 
experiments  were  made  in  Harwich  "  twenty-five  years  ago."  On  the 
site  of  these  first  experiments  in  the  rear  of  Benjamin  F.  Bee's  factory, 
near  Harwich  Center,  his  son  Emulous  Small,  now  a  prominent  grower, 
has  a  productive  bog. 

In  1852  or  1853,  Nathaniel  Robbins  set  a  few,  and  afterward  became 
an  extensive  grower.  His  bogs  in  Harwich  were  not  especially  profit- 
able, but  he  made  a  fair  property  as  owner  in  other  bogs.  Jonathan 
Small  sanded  a  bog  quite  early  at  South  Harwich  near  the  shore, 
where  now  is  Deep  Hole  bog.  Deacon  Braley  Jenkins  of  West  Barn- 
stable was  the  first  to  cultivate  the  berry  in  that  part  of  the  Cape, 
having  his  bog  on  Sandy  Neck  outside  the  ancient  Cummaquid 
harbor. 

While  these  primitive  experiments  were  proving  the  wisdom  of 
some  theories  and  the  folly  of  others,  the  supply  of  berries  was  upon 
the  whole  rapidly  increasing,  for  in  almost  every  portion  of  the  Cape 
were  swamps  available  for  no  other  known  purpose. 

Probably  the  men  who  brought  the  berry  to  the  attention  of  the 
public  outside  of  the  districts  to  which  it  was  indigenous  and  created 
a  demand  for  it,  were  potent  factors  in  the  development  of  this  in- 
dustry. That  change  of  taste  which  we  have  noticed  as  continually 
going  on,  has  brought  this  little  waif  of  the  swamp  lands  into  notice, 
and  made  it  a  favorite  with  the  epicures  of  every  country.  Writers 
who  called  attention  to  it  also  promoted  the  general  interest.  Rev. 
Eastwood,  of  North  Dennis,  published  a  book  on  the  cranberry  and 
its  cultivation,  which  attracted  the  attention  of  the  New  Jersey  men, 
where  the  conditions  for  raising  them  were  similar.  In  the  book  the 
author  informed  his  readers  that  William  Crowell,  now  of  North  Den- 
nis, then  of  Baker  &  Crowell,  at  23  South  street,  New  York,  would 
answer  inquiries  from  any  who  intended  to  start  in  this  enterprise. 
From  this  and  other  causes  their  firm  handled  large  quantities  of  the 
cuttings  of  the  vines  which  were  sent  to  New  Jersey  to  start  the  in- 
dustry there. 


INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCES.  149 

The  preparation  of  the  bogs  is  in  most  instances  a  tedious  and  ex- 
pensive process,  costing,  by  the  time  the  vines  are  started,  from  two 
hundred  to  five  hundred  dollars  per  acre,  and  in  some  instances  even 
more.  The  usual  method  is  to  clear  the  land  of  bushes  and  stumps, 
make  the  surface  as  level  as  practicable,  and  then  cover  with  a  layer 
of  sand  to  the  depth  of  from  three  to  eight  inches.  The  vines  are 
then  set  out  in  rows,  and  soon  cover  the  whole  acreage  uniformly. 
As  with  all  other  crops,  cranberries  require  constant  care  and  atten- 
tion to  keep  out  undesirable  growth.  Ivy  must  be  pulled  out  as  soon 
as  it  makes  its  appearance,  as  it  spreads  very  rapidly  when  once 
started.  The  same  is  true  of  grass  and  fern.  After  a  few  years  the 
vines  become  thick,  making  the  berries  ripen  too  slowly  and  difficult 
to  pick;  this  is  remedied  by  putting  on  a  layer  of  sand  an  inch  or  two 
thick  every  few  years.  One  method  of  resanding  is  to  sand  on  the  ice 
when  the  bog  is  flowed  in  winter. 

Every  known  variety  is  indigenous  to  the  soil  of  the  Cape,  from 
which  the  fruit  receives  an  excellence  so  peculiarly  marked  as  to 
render  the  Cape  Cod  berries  the  most  valuable  in  market.  This 
native  fruit  has  been  cultivated  to  its  present  perfection  by  trans- 
planting and  carefully  cultivating  the  best-producing  vines.  No  new 
varieties,  other  than  existed  in  their  native  beds,  have  been  added  to . 
the  list;  but  the  selection  of  the  most  perfect  vines  and  their  develop- 
ment under  more  favorable  circumstances,  has  improved  the  pleasing 
and  profitable  varieties  which  bear  the  names  of  those  who  prosecuted 
the  work.  The  Early  Blacks,  a  standard  variety,  originated  on  lands 
in  Harwich  belonging  to  Nathaniel  Robbins,  from  whom  all  the  men 
who  are  said  to  have  developed  it  obtained,  directly  or  indirectly, 
their  first  plants.  The  Howes  vine  originated  in  Dennis  and  was  first 
propagated  by  James  Howes,  who  has  sold  hundreds  of  barrels  of  cut- 
tings. The  Sears  vine,  and  the  Smalle)'  are  other  well-known  varie- 
ties. There  are  kinds  that  ripen  sufficiently  to  pick  during  the  last 
week  in  August,  but  not  until  the  first  week  of  the  following  month 
is  the  picking  general,  and  this  work  gives  lucrative  emplo5inent  to 
men,  women  and  children  during  a  period  of  several  weeks.  To 
hasten  the  tedious  work  of  picking  has  been  the  study  of  inventive 
minds  and  several  hand  machines  have  been  introduced;  but  the  per- 
fection of  the  device  and  its  introduction  to  general  use  has  not  yet 
been  accomplished. 

The  success  of  this  industrial  pursuit  was  scarcely  assured  when 
natural  enemies  of  the  crop  began  to  appear.  The  fire  worm  is  the 
most  dangerous  of  the  insect  foes,  and  various  means  have  been  ap- 
plied for  his  extermination.  Flowing  the  bogs  at  the  proper  time 
was  first  found  to  be  a  remedy,  but  this  retarded  the  growth  of  the 
berries  and  left  them  more  liable  to  injury  by  early  frosts  in  autumn. 


150  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Again,  some  bogs  could  not  be  quickly  submerged  and  a  delay  of 
eighteen  hours  in  checking  the  work  of  the  worm  at  a  critical  time 
decides  the  fate  of  the  crop.  Tobacco  decoctions  as  a  spray  on  the 
vines  have  been  used  with  good  results.  In  1889,  Eleazer  K.  Crowell 
of  Dennis  Port,  an  extensive  grower,  made  experiments  covering  sev- 
eral acres  to  which  he  applied  as  much  as  eighteen  barrels  of  tobacco 
decoction  in  a  single  day  with  a  satisfactory  result. 

The  distinguishing  feature  of  this  business  is  the  large  percentage 
of  the  gross  market  price  which  comes  to  the  people  whose  labor 
produces  them.  From  the  laborers  who  prepare  the  bogs  to  the  many 
men,  women  and  children  who  pick  the  berries,  all  classes  find  profit- 
able employment  and,  except  the  freights  and  selling  commissions,  the 
whole  price  of  the  fruit  in  market  finds  its  way  into  the  pockets  of  the 
Cape  people.  The  screening,  sorting  and  cleaning  the  berries  for  the 
market  is  no  small  amount  of  labor.  Making  the  barrels  and  boxes 
necessary  for  their  shipment  to  market  is  another  considerable  indus- 
try. Many  growers  make  their  own  shipping  cases,  purchasing  the  mate- 
rial from  factories  where  it  is  prepared  ready  to  put  up,  and  there  are 
several  shops  in  the  county  where  these  barrels  and  boxes  are  pre- 
pared ready  for  sale. 

Very  handsome  returns  have  generally  been  realized  from  invest- 
ments here  in  the  cranberry  business.  Several  verified  statements 
are  at  hand  showing  a  profit  of  over  a  hundred  per  cent,  on  the  in- 
vestment in  a  single  year,  and  some  of  these  reach  134  per  cent. 
Cyrus  Cahoon  of  Pleasant  Lake,  whose  age  and  observation  fit  him  to 
judge,  fairly  expresses  the  belief  that  the  total  investments  in  this 
industry  in  Barnstable  county  since  1860  have  yielded  an  average  an- 
nual return  of  thirty  per  cent.,  although  this  average  includes  some 
recent  years  wherein  some  growers  have  made  total  failures. 

In  the  census  year  1855  there  were  197  acres  in  the  county,  of  which 
Dennis  had  60;  Barnstable,  33;  Falmouth,  26;  Provincetown,  26;  Brew- 
ster, 21;  Harwich,  17;  Orleans,  8;  Eastham,  Sandwich  and  Yarmouth,  6 
acres  each,  and  Wellfleet,  2  acres.  The  next  census  by  the  state,  in 
1865,  showed  the  total  acreage  for  the  county  to  be  1,074.  Harwich 
had  become  the  leading  town,  having  209  acres;  Dennis,  194;  Brew- 
ster, 136;  Barnstable,  126;  Provincetown,  110;  Sandwich,  70;  Falmouth, 
68;  Yarmouth,  40;  Orleans,  38;  Chatham,  27;  Wellfleet  and  Eastham, 
each  22;  and  Truro,  12  acres. 

The  state  bureau  of  labor  statistics  records  the  production  of  cran- 
berries in  the  county  for  the  census  year  1865  at  13,324  bushels,  the 
value  of  which  was  $36,815.  The  same  authority  places  the  crop  of 
1874  for  the  county  at  44,031  bushels,  of  which  Barnstable  produced 
10,019  bushels;  Dennis,  8,637;  Brewster,  6,198;  Harwich,  6,600;  Sand- 
wich, 4,673;  Falmouth,  4,438;  Orleans,  1,128;  Yarmouth,  845;  Province- 


INDUSTRIAL   RESOURCES.  151 

town,  760;  Eastham,  633;  Wellfleet,  376;  Chatham.  322;  and  Truro,  114 
bushels.  Since  then  the  amount  of  the  production  has  been  stated  in 
barrels.  The  totals  for  the  county,  as  determined  from  the  shipment 
records  of  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  Company,  were  34,733  barrels  for 
1877,  and  37,883  barrels  for  1879.  In  1880  they  shipped  39,625  bar- 
rels, and  26,500  barrels  in  1883.  In  1884  the  crop  was  27,246  barrels. 
For  1886  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  furnishes  the  details  by  towns, 
showing  that  each  town  in  the  county  was  producing  this  fruit,  of 
which  Harwich,  in  the  lead,  marketed  12,180  barrels,  and  Wellfleet,  at 
the  foot  of  the  list,  produced  143  barrels.  The  other  towns  in  order 
were:  Barnstable,  producing  8,509  barrels;  Bourne,  8,094  barrels;  Den- 
nis, 6,030  barrels;  Yarmouth,  6,000;  Falmouth,  3,234;  Brewster,  3,000; 
Mashpee,  2,740;  Sandwich,  2,389;  Provincetown,  1,472;  Orleans,  1,067; 
Chatham,  1,000;  Truro,  479;  and  Eastham,  471  barrels— a  total  for  the 
county  of  55,898  barrels.  These  figures  are  from  the  producers'  state- 
ments, while  the  shipment  records  of  the  railroad  company  make  the 
total  for  the  county  991  barrels  less,  a  difference  of  less  than  two  per 
cent.  The  Old  Colony  figures  for  1886  show  the  crop  to  have  been 
60,803  barrels;  for  1887  to  have  been  63,476  barrels;  for  1888  the  crop 
was  64,316,  and  for  1889  the  gross  shipments — the  largest  ever  made 
— reached  66,750  barrels. 

The  table  shows  the  number  of  barrels  or  their  equivalents  shipped 
in  1889  from  the  several  stations,  and  gives  an  approximate  idea  of 
the  amount  produced  in  the  several  towns.  The  West  Barnstable  and 
Sandwich  shipments  include  chiefly  the  crop  of  Mashpee. 

Buzzards  Bay 201 

Monument  Beach 141 

Wenaumet 96 

Cataumet 668 

North  Falmouth 736 

West  Falmouth 62 

Falmouth 4,420 

Woods  Holl 170 


Bourne 773 

Bournedale '. .  1,681 

Sagamore 3,371 

Sandwich 5,800 

West  Barnstable 9,686 

Barnstable 363 

Yarmouth 4,735 

Hyannis 3,349 

South  Yarmouth 2,968 


South  Dennis 5,993 

North  Harwich 3,930 

Harwich 9,479 

South  Harwich 406 

South  Chatham 186 

Chatham 680 

Pleasant  Lake 491 

Brewster 6,286 

Orleans 1,224 

Eastham 189 

North  Eastham 33 

South  Wellfleet 66 

Wellfleet 132 

South  Truro 68 

Truro 13 

North  Truro 10 

Provincetown 66 


The  area  devoted  to  their  culture  in  the  several  towns  as  recorded 
by  the  local  assessors  for  1889,  shows  a  total  of  3,006i  acres  in  the 
county,  valued  at  $589,639.00  as  the  basis  of  taxation.  This  area  is 
doubtless  very  nearly  correct,  but  this  valuation  is  not  more  than 


152  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

two-fifths  of  the  commercial  value  of  these  lands.     The  detail  by- 
towns  are  : 

198^  acres  in  Bourne,      valued  at $35,684  00 

131i  "  Falmouth,  "       37,097  00 

203i  "  Mashpee,  "       66,160  00 

135f  "  Sandwich,  "       32,400  00 

5491  "  Barnstable,  "       116,650  00 

165i  "  Yarmouth,  "       25,680  00 

359ii  "  Dennis,  "       71.870  00 

600^  "  Harwich,  "       114,810  00 

93f  "  Chatham,  "       12,144  00 

2o4  "  Brewster,  "       47,990  00 

123i  "  Orleans,  "       10,008  00 

56  "  Eastham,  "       4,979  00 

13f  "  Wellfleet,  "       995  00 

69i  "  Truro,  "       3,754  00 

.  and  212i  "  Provincetown,    "       9.618  00 

This  total  for  the  county  does  not  include  the  larger  areas  in 
course  of  preparation,  but  not  yet  set  with  vines.  Several  individuals 
and  companies  in  the  lower  Cape  are  preparing  to  increase  the  acre- 
age in  those  towns  where,  thus  far,  less  of  the  fruit  has  been  grown. 

The  biographical  sketches  of  Abel  D.  Makepeace,  of  West  Barn- 
stable, generally  known  as  the  cranberry  king;  of  Cyrus  Cahoon  and 
Zebnia  H.  Small,  of  Harwich,  and  of  E.  K.  Crowell,  William  Crowell 
and  Capt.  Howes  Baker,  of  Dennis,  as  they  appear  in  the  subsequent 
chapters  of  this  volume,  and  the  personal  mention  of  the  other  grow- 
ers in  the  several  towns,  will  throw  more  light  upon  their  relation  to 
the  origin  and  progress  of  this  great  industrial  resource  of  South  East- 
ham,  Mass. 

The  terms  in  which  this  county  is  generally  referred  to,  and  the 
distinctive  titles  applied  to  the  residents  of  it,  have  gradually  given 
those  who  have  not  known  the  territory  or  its  inhabitants,  the  idea 
that  Cape  Codders,  the  Cape  and  Cape  Cod  people  were  terms  refer- 
ring to  a  community  different  from  the  rest  of  New  England,  and 
especially  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  This  idea  is  not 
correct,  even  in  general  respects,  because  the  residents  of  the  county 
have  always,  by  land  and  sea,  maintained  business  and  social  relations 
as  extensive  with  others  as  have  any  people.  If,  however,  there  be  one 
trait  which,  more  than  another,  distinguish  these  families  from  others 
of  the  East,  it  is  that  love  of  home  which  more  or  less  characterizes 
the  dwellers  of  all  islands  and  insular  localities.  This  love  of  their 
native  place,  and  that  reverence  and  respect  for  the  character  that 
has  been  developed  in  it,  seems  to  increase  the  longer  they  remain 


INDUSTRIAL   RESOURCES.  163 

away  from  it;  and  now  that  communication  is  so  easy  between  the 
East  and  West,  each  season  witnesses  the  return  to  the  Cape  of  those 
who  from  it  have  gone  to  make  their  home  in  almost  every  state  of 
the  Union.  They  find  here  something  which,  somehow,  they  forgot, 
or  failed  to  take  with  them  when  they  went  West;  and  so  year  after 
year  they  come  back  to  the  scenes  and  circumstances  of  the  old  home, 
"  which  father's  grandfather  built  in  17 —  and  something." 

That  sensible  practice,  happily  increasing  among  city  people,  of 
checking  themselves  each  year  in  the  rush  and  hurry  of  business,  to 
take  a  vacation  at  the  seaside,  has  already  modified,  to  a  great  extent, 
the  resources  and  prospects  of  Cape  Cod.  Available  building  sites 
for  summer  cottages  are  rapidly  being  occupied  by  those  who  build 
more  rr  less  elaborately  and  spend  the  larger  portion  of  the  year 
here.  This  is  especially  true  of  Falmouth,  where  several  people  of 
large  means  claim  their  residence.  More  than  one-half  of  all  the 
taxes  of  this  town  are  paid  by  four  such  families.  These  elegant 
residences  have  been  erected  by  the  summer  people  almost  through- 
out the  Buzzards  bay  side  of  the  county,  and  down  the  Cape  on  either 
shore;  and  on  the  higher  lands  as  well,  handsome  residences  beautify 
the  landscape.  The  most  elaborate  and  expensive  of  all  residences 
in  Barnstable  county  is  Tawasentha,  the  new  residence  of  Albert 
Crosby,  in  Brewster,  which  is  the  subject  of  an  illustration  in  the  his- 
tory of  that  town. 

The  salubrity  of  the  climate,  the  remarkably  even  temperature, 
and  the  opportunities  for  pleasure  bring  hundreds  of  strangers  to 
the  Cape  each  season.  Here  are  all  the  conditions  to  be  looked  or 
hoped  for  at  any  seaside  resort,  and  then  here  is  that  other  element — 
the  hospitable  good  cheer  of  the  New  England  home.  The  hotels  are 
good,  but  a  large  class  of  summer  comers  are  those  who  choose  the 
farm  house  or  the  village  home,  where  a  view  of  the  Cape  life,  as  it 
is,  and  the  broad  hospitality  of  the  people  are  a  stimulus  to  the 
moral  fibre  of  a  man — not  less  to  be  desired,  perhaps,  than  the  brac- 
ing, appetizing  breezes  which  come  to  him  from  the  ocean. 

The  visitors  who  choose  hotel  life  find  less  accommodations  than 
the  Cape  should  be  able  to  furnish,  and  along  this  line  the  greatest  de- 
velopment in  the  immediate  future  is  to  be  looked  for  and  expected. 
The  tourist  who  hurriedly  visits  the  Cape  by  rail  gets  the  worst  pos- 
sible impression  of  it,  for  the  railway  was  located  to  best  accommo- 
date the  villages  on  either  side,  passing  through  the  most  barren  and 
uninviting  lands  between  them.  The  traveler  of  the  old  stage-coach 
days  understood  the  country  better.  One  can  hardly  find  elsewhere 
in  the  state  so  beautiful  a  drive  as  the  south  side  coaches  covered  in 
their  trips  from  Sandwich  through  the  pretty  villages  of  Cotuit,  Oster- 
ville,  Centerville,  Hyannis,  West  and  South  Yarmouth,  and  over  the 


154  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Bass  river  lower  bridge  on  through  West  Dennis,  Dennis  Port,  West 
Harwich,  Harwich  Port,  South  Harwich,  West  and  South  Chatham  to 
the  flourishing  village  of  Chatham. 

Liberal  sums  are  annually  expended  by  the  several  towns  to  im- 
prove the  roads,  and  almost  in  proportion  as  the  roads  have  been  made 
better  has  the  summer  business  been  increased.  Falmouth  has  thus 
far  taken  the  lead  in  this  respect,  but  each  of  the  towns,  especially  in 
the  central  and  upper  portions  of  the  Cape,  have  charming  drives, 
where  the  impression  is  as  though  one  were  riding  through  some  well- 
kept  park. 

A  Cape  Cod  man,  now  president  of  the  largest  bank  in  America,  is 
interested  in  a  new  hotel  being  erected  on  an  elegant  plan  in  Chat- 
ham. At  Monument  Beach,  on  the  site  of  the  old  Stearns  House,  a 
new  five-story  hotel  is  nearly  completed,  and  entirely  around  the  point 
on  which  it  stands  has  been  built  a  sea  wall,  having  a  circular  sweep, 
which  bounds  and  protects  the  north  and  west  sides  of  the  grounds. 
The  house  is  of  wood,  with  brown  stone  for  veranda  column  founda- 
tions, chimney  caps  and  fireplaces.  It  contains  eighty-nine  guest 
chambers,  besides  parlors,  dining-rooms,  kitchens,  store-rooms,  bath- 
rooms, etc. 

The  Santuit  House,  at  Cotuit,  was  built  in  1860  by  Braddock  Cole- 
man and  run  by  him  and  his  son  James  H.  After  being  leased,  the 
Barnstable  Savings  bank  sold  it  on  a  mortgage  to  Samuel  Nickerson, 
whose  son-in-law,  Charles  N.  Scudder,  managed  it  two  years,  when  it 
passed  in  1880  to  its  present  owner,  Abbie  A.  Webb.  Mr.  Webb  re- 
modeled it,  bought  the  old  Captain  Alpheus  Adams  house,  with  other 
adjoining  property,  and  remodeled  the  whole,  furnishing  accommoda- 
tions for  one  hundred  guests.  The  Monument  Club,  at  head  of  the 
bay,  has  suitable  buildings  for  comfort  and  recreation. 

The  Bay  View  House,  the  Redbrook  House,  and  the  Jachin  are 
beautifully  located  at  Cataumet,  on  Buzzards  bay.  The  locality  has 
many  advantages  as  a-healthful  resort,  and  is  easily  accessible  by  the 
Woods  Holl  brahch  of  the  railroad.  Still  further  southward  on  the 
bay,  is  Quisset  harbor,  a  romantic  spot  in  the  southwest  portion  of 
Falmouth.  Ample  accommodations  are  provided  for  guests.  The 
house  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  high  bank  that  encloses  the  har- 
bor, which  afifords  safe  sailing  and  successful  fishing.  George  W. 
Fish  has  been  the  popular  proprietor  for  several  years.  On  the  sound, 
at  Falmouth  Heights,  Tower's  Hotel  was  erected  in  1871,  and  was  en- 
larged in  1875.  Here  also  is  the  Goodwin  Hou.se,  a  well-patronized 
house,  by  Mrs.  C.  H.  Goodwin.  Menauhant,  easterly  of  the  Heights, 
is  also  on  the  sound  shore  of  Falmouth.  This  house  is  near  the  water, 
is  well  protected  on  the  land  side  by  forests,  and  is  a  well-chosen  lo- 
cality.     It  was  built  in  1874  by  Gideon  Horton  and  Benjamin  Angell 


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INDUSTRIAL   RESOURCES.  155 

who  organized  the  Menauhant  land  company  and  built  also  some 
cottages.  In  May,  1888,  Floyd  Travis,  of  Taunton,  bought  the  hotel 
property  on  which  he  has  made  many  internal  improvements.  A 
highway  was  laid  out  in  1889  connecting  by  the  shore  route  with  East 
Falmouth,— reducing  the  distance  from  the  railway  station  to  6i 
miles. 

The  Hotel  Falmouth,  of  Falmouth  village,  and  the  Dexter  House, 
at  Woods  Holl,  are  open  during  the  entire  year,  but  have  a  large 
summer  patronage.  The  Hotel  Attaquin,  of  Mashpee,  and  the  lya- 
nough  House,  of  Hyannis,  also  make  a  specialty  of  entertaining 
summer  boarders. 

The  Cotocheset  House,  at  Wianno  Beach,  near  Osterville,  was  built 
by  Harvey  Scudder  prior  to  1869,  and  was  owned  by  J.  C.  Stevens 
from  1877  until  its  destruction  by  fire  in  1887.  The  real  estate  at  this 
beach  was  largely  owned  by  the  Osterville  Land  Company.  After  the 
fire  the  Cotocheset  Company,  a  stock  company,  erected  the  present 
fine  hotel — still  known  as  the  Cotocheset  House — which  was  leased  by 
the  popular  hostess,  Mrs.  Ames,  who  had  managed  the  former  hotel 
eight  years  with  remarkable  success. 

The  Sea-View  is  beautifully  located  at  Harwich  Port,  accommodat- 
ing many  summer  boarders;  and  at  Chatham  the  Travelers'  Home  has 
been  fitted  up,  giving  a  commanding  view  of  the  ocean  and  sound. 
The  hotels  of  the  towns  down  the  Cape  are  more  or  less  patronized  by 
pleasure  seekers,  and  to  be  added  to  these  is  the  Giflford  House  of 
Provincetown,  open  only  during  the  summer.  This  house  is  pleasantly 
situated  on  an  eminence  overlooking  the  harbor. 

Prominent  on  the  north  or  bay  side  of  the  Cape  stands  the  Nobs- 
cussett  House,  at  Dennis.  Situated  on  a  bluff  sixty  feet  above  the 
sea,  the  eye,  from  its  cupola,  sweeps  a  marine  half  circle  of  a  twenty 
mile  radius,  and  a  stretch  almost  as  distant  of  picturesque  landscape, 
with  meadow,  hill,  forest  and  crystal  ponds.  From  every  direction  it 
catches  the  ocean  breeze,  bringing  with  it  "  the  breath  of  a  new  life — 
the  healing  of  the  seas."  There  is,  perhaps,  no  place  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  that  offers  so  many  advantages  for  a  summer's  rest  by  the  sea  as 
this  spot.  The  hotel  grounds  cover  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
acres,  with  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  mile  of  sea  front,  furnishing  ex- 
cellent facilities  for  bathing,  boating,  fishing,  and  ample  room  for 
rambling,  croquet,  lawn  tennis  and  swings.  Forty  acres  of  these 
grounds  were  set  apart  for  whaling  purposes  in  the  early  history  of 
the  town,  and  for  more  than  two  hundred  years  the  old  "  Whale 
House  "  occupied  the  site  on  which  the  pavilion  now  stands. 

An  attractive  feature  is  the  pier  extending  into  the  sea  eight 
hundred  feet,  with  a  pavilion  at  the  end,  where  it  widens  to  fifty  feet, 
in  a  depth  of  twenty  feet  of  water  at  high  tide.     With  clams,  lobsters. 


166  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

fish  in  great  variety,  fresh  from  the  sea,  and  all  the  vegetables  of  the 
season,  with  rich  cream  and  milk  furnished  daily  from  the  adjacent 
Tobey  farm,  the  appetite,  whetted  by  the  sea  air,  is  readily  appeased. 

The  house  is  supplied  with  pure  water  from  a  never-failing  spring, 
while  the  drainage  and  sanitary  arrangements  are  the  best  that  mod- 
ern science  can  suggest. 

In  1885,  the  late  Charles  Tobey  of  Chicago,  a  native  of  Dennis, 
purchased  this  property  and  greatly  enlarged  and  beautified  its  ap- 
pearance by  adding  to  the  hotel  a  front  of  four  and  a  half  stories, 
building  two  cottages  with  twelve  rooms  each,  a  billiard  room  and 
bowling  alley  with  hall  above,  a  pavilion,  ice  house  and  stable.  The 
grounds  were  improved  by  walks,  driveways  and  flower  beds.  Re- 
cently the  present  owner,  Frank  B.  Tobey,  of  Chicago,  also  a  native  of 
Dennis,  has  made  extensive  additions  to  the  hotel,  so  that  it  now  fur- 
nishes accommodation  for  two  hundred  guests.  Luther  Hall,  of  Den- 
nis, has  charge  of  this  property,  assisted  in  the  management  of  the 
hotel  by  F.  H.  Pratt. 

Generally,  the  several  hotels  mentioned  in  the  histories  of  the  vil- 
lages through  the  county  make  special  preparations  to  entertain  the 
summer  people. 

Not  the  least  of  the  attractions  of  the  Cape  are  the  excellent  facil- 
ities for  yachting.  The  retired  shipmasters,  as  well  as  the  pleasure- 
seekers,  own  handsome  yachts  and  engage  in  the  sport.  Regattas  are 
sailed  each  season  at  various  points  around  the  shore,  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Cape  Cod  Yacht  Club,  in  which  nearly  every  town  is  repre- 
sented. The  past  summer  has  been  marked  by  the  several  yacht  races 
at  Buzzards  Bay,  Nobscussett,  and  along  the  sound,  many  of  the  visit- 
ors having  large  and  beautiful  yachts  for  their  private  use. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


By  John  H.  Dillingham. 

CCopyrtght,  1890.] 


General  View  of  the  Rise  and  Course  of  their  Principles  in  Barnstable  County. — The 
Society  inSandwich. — Newell  Hoxie. — The  Society  in  Ytirmouth. — David  K.  Akin. 
— The  Society  in  Falmouth. — The  Dillingham  Family. 


MINISTERS  of  the  Society  of  Friends  first  made  their  appearance 
in  this  county  in  the  year  1657,  ten  years  after  the  rise  of  the 
society  in  England,  chiefly  under  the  ministry  of  George  Fox. 
These  were  Christopher  Holder  and  John  Copeland,  who,  having 
landed  at  Rhode  Island,  proceeded  soon  to  Martha's  Vineyard.  Their 
religious  ofi^erings  being  unacceptable  to  the  governor  of  the  island 
and  to  Mayhew,  the  priest,  an  Indian  was  ordered  to  convey  them 
across  the  sound.  They  stepped  upon  the  (now  called)  Falmouth 
shore  on  the  20th  of  Sixth*  month,  1657,  and  proceeded  to  the  town  of 
Sandwich.  There  they  found  a  number  unsettled  in  their  church  re- 
lations, doubtful  of  the  propriety  of  stated  preaching,  and  believing  in 
the  duty  of  Christians  without  human  ordination  to  exercise  their  own 
gifts  in  the  ministry.  Thus  the  seed  of  what  was  nicknamed  Quaker- 
ism found  a  soil  to  some  extent  prepared.  The  spiritual  doctrines 
preached  by  Christopher  Holder  and  John  Copeland  were  hailed  with 
feelings  of  satisfaction  by  those  who  had  found  little  food  in  stated 
preaching  or  in  forms  of  worship.  Not  less  than  eighteen  families  in 
Sandwich  were  on  record  the  next  year  as  professing  with  Friends.f 

This  was  not  the  first  arrival  of  Copeland  and  Holder  on  New 
England  shores,  but  they  were  of  the  first  cargo  of  Friends  who  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  a  foothold  on  New  England  soil,  to  propagate  their 
views  of  gospel  truth.    They  had  first  arrived  from  London  in  Boston 

*  Now  Eighth  month,  called  August. 

f  "  They  have  many  meetings  and  many  adherents;  almost  the  whole  town  of 
Sandwich  is  adhering  towards  them.  .  .  The  Sandwich  men  may  not  go  to  the  Bay 
[Boston  colony],  lest  they  be  taken  up  for  Quakers." — Letter  of  James  Cud  worth,  a  Puri- 
tan, in  1658. 


168  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

bay  one  year  before,  together  with  six  fellow  laborers  in  the  same 
cause.  The.'5e  arrived  only  two  days  after  the  sailing  away  of  Mary 
Fisher  and  Anne  Austin,  who  had  been  the  first  of  that  society  to  come 
to  New  England;  and  who,  after  five  weeks'  imprisonment,  had  been 
sent  to  Barbadoes  on  the  vessel  in  which  they  came.  Now,  these 
eight  other  Friends  appearing  in  place  of  the  two  just  banished, 
brought  no  small  consternation  to  the  minds  of  the  authorities, 
who  had  them  imprisoned  for  eleven  weeks,  and  subjected  to  many 
hardships  in  jail,  before  they  were  shipped  back  to  London. 

The  aged  Nicholas  Upshal,  who  had  been  touched  by  the  suffer- 
ings of  Mary  Fisher  and  Anne  Austin  as  prisoners,  and  had  given 
them  provisions,  now  raised  his  voice  in  protest  against  the  treatment 
of  Quakers  and  the  laws  enacted  against  them.  Banished  from  his 
home  in  consequence,  he  proceeded  southward  in  hope  of  finding 
shelter  at  Sandwich.  But  the  governor  of  Plymouth  had  issued  a  war- 
rant forbidding  any  of  the  people  of  Sandwich  to  entertain  him  The 
inhabitants  of  Sandwich,  which  even  then  began  to  appear  as  the 
cradle  of  religious  liberty  for  Massachusetts,  were  mercifully  disposed 
to  ignore  the  governor's  order  summoning  him  to  Plymouth.  But 
such  was  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  on  them  by  the  governor, 
that  when  spring-time  came,  they  advised  Nicholas  Upshal  to 
seek  refuge  in  Rhode  Island.  Succeeding  in  reaching  the  free 
soil  of  Newport,  doubtless  there  as  during  his  sojourn  in  Sand- 
wich, he  served  to  prepare  many  minds  for  the  reception  of  the 
doctrines  which  he  had  learned  in  Boston  through  the  per- 
secuted Friends.  The  story  of  the  old  man's  wrongs  being  a  theme 
of  general  conversation  at  Newport,  an  Indian  chief  was  heard  to  ex- 
claim, "  What  a  God  have  the  English,  who  deal  so  with  one  another 
about  their  God  !  " 

It  was  while  this  topic  was  fresh  that  Robert  Fowler's  vessel,  the 
Woodhouse,  arrived  at  Newport,  landing  six  of  the  eleven  Friends  whom 
he  had  brought  from  England, — the  other  five  of  his  passengers  having 
disembarked  at  New  Amsterdam  (New  York).  Of  the  six  who  pro- 
ceeded to  Newport,  Christopher  Holder  and  John  Copeland  remained 
there  nearly  a  fortnight.  No  doubt  the  exiled  Nicholas  Upshal,  who 
had  passed  the  preceding  winter  in  Sandwich,  had  much  conference 
in  Newport  with  these  welcome  brethren;  and  much  that  he  could  say 
to  them  about  the  fields  being  ready  for  a  harvest  in  Sandwich,  may 
have  been  instrumental  in  turning  the  course  of  Copeland  and  Holder 
toward  the  Cape,  by  way  of  the  Vineyard.  But  Copeland,  in  a  letter  to 
his  parents,  names  only  the  next  station  immediately  in  view:  "  Now 
I  and  Christopher  Holder  are  going  to  Martha's  Vineyard  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  will  of  our  God,  whose  will  is  our  joy." 

It  is  requisite  here  that  we  should  take  a  glance  at  the  more  dis- 


THE    SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS.  159 

tinguishing  doctrines  inculcated  by  the  Friends  *  in  order  to  under- 
stand a  little  of  their  public,  though  invisible  influence  on  the  life  of 
the  western  half  of  the  county,  especially  in  Sandwich,  Falmouth  and 
Yarmouth,  where  societies  of  them  were  early  gathered  and  still  re- 
main. This  influence  has  been  due,  not  to  their  numbers,  but  to  their 
character.  And  their  character,  so  far  as  it  is  the  outcome  of  their 
doctrines,  is  traceable  to  so  much  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  not  as  they 
have  professed  as  a  foundation  doctrine,  but  as  they  have  admitted 
into  their  hearts  to  live  by  and  obey. 

As  the  immediate  beginning  of  modern  Protestantism  sprang  up 
in  the  revelation  livingly  opened  to  Luther  while  performing  a  Rom- 
ish penance,  that  "  The  just  shall  live  by  faith,"  so  a  similar  be- 
ginning of  that  more  distinct  testimony  for  the  spiritual  nature  of  the 
Christian  dispensation,  as  the  second  wave  of  the  reformation,  by  some 

*  The  first  written  declaration  of  faith,  representing  some  of  the  leading  doctrines 
of  Friends,  is  believed  to  be  the  following,  issued  by  Christopher  Holder,  John  Cope- 
land  and  Richard  Doudney,  soon  after  the  first  visit  of  the  two  former  in  Sandwich. 
It  is  dated:  "  From  the  House  of  Correction,  the  1st  of  the  Eighth  month,  1657,  in 
Boston." 

"  We  do  believe  in  the  only  true  and  living  God,  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  hath  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  the  sea  and  all  things  in  them  con- 
tained, and  doth  uphold  all  things  that  he  hath  created  by  the  word  of  his  power. 
Who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners,  spake  in  time  past  to  our  fathers  by  the 
prophets,  but  in  these  last  days  hath  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son,  whom  he  hath  made 
heir  of  all  things,  by  whom  he  made  the  world.  The  which  Son  is  that  Jesus  Christ 
that  was  born  of  the  Virgin;  who  suffered  for  our  offences,  and  is  risen  again  for  our 
justification,  and  is  ascended  into  the  highest  heavens,  and  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of 
God  the  Father.  Even  in  him  do  we  believe;  who  is  the  only  begotten  Son  of  the 
Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth.  And  in  him  do  we  trust  alone  for  salvation;  by  whose 
blood  we  are  washed  from  sin;  through  whom  we  have  access  to  the  Father  vrith  bold- 
ness, being  justified  by  faith  in  believing  in  his  name.  Who  hath  sent  forth  the  Holy 
Ghost,  to  wit,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  that  proceedeth  from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  by 
which  we  are  sealed  and  adopted  sons  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  From  the 
which  Spirit  the  Scriptures  of  truth  were  given  forth,  as,  saith  the  Apostle  Peter,  '  Holy 
men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.'  The  which  were  written 
for  our  admonition,  on  whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are  come;  and  are  profitable  for  the 
man  of  God,  to  reprove,  and  to  exhort,  and  to  admonish,  as  the  Spirit  of  God  bringeth 
them  unto  him,  and  openeth  them  in  him,  and  giveth  him  the  understanding  of 
them. 

"  So  that  before  all  men  we  do  declare  that  we  do  believe  in  Grod  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Spirit;  according  as  they  are  declared  of  in  the  Scriptures;  and  the 
Scriptures  we  own  to  be  a  true  declaration  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Spirit;  in 
which  is  declared  what  was  in  the  beginning,  what  was  present,  and  waa  to 
come.  »  »  «  [The  only  doctrinal  matter  which  follows  is  contained  in 
an  exhortation  to  turn  to  the  Spirit]  that  showeth  you  the  secret  of  your  hearts,  and 
the  deeds  that  are  not  good.  Therefore  while  you  have  light,  believe  in  the  light,  that 
you  may  be  the  children  of  the  light;  for,  as  you  love  it  and  obey  it,  it  will  lead  you  to 
repentance,  bring  you  to  know  Him  in  whom  is  remission  of  sins,  in  whom  God  is  well 
pleased;  who  will  give  you  an  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  an  inheritance 
amongst  them  that  are  sanctified." 


160  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

denominated  as  Quakerism,*  dates  from  the  moment  that  George  Fox, 
after  sore  struggles  and  wanderings  in  search  for  the  living  truth, 
heard  the  words  as  by  a  declaration  from  heaven,  "  There  is  one,  even 
Christ  Jesus,  that  can  speak  to  thy  condition." 

From  that  time,  Jesus  Christ,  not  only  as  "  once  offered  to  bear  the 
sins  of  many,"  but  as  the  inspeaking  Word  of  God  and  Mediator  be- 
tween man  and  the  Father;  the  "  true  Light  that  lighteth  every  man 
that  cometh  into  the  world  ";  the  Leader,  by  the  witness  of  his  Spirt, 
into  all  the  Truth;  and  the  practical  "head  over  all  things  to  his 
church,"  even  head  over  every  individual  exercise  of  true  public  and 
private  worship, — -has  been  the  foundation  of  the  system  of  doctrines 
and  testimony,  which  seemed  to  the  early  Friends  clearly  to  proceed 
from  Christ  by  the  witness  of  his  spirit  to  their  hearts. 

They  reverently  owned  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  be  written  words 
of  God,  but  were  careful  to  observe  them  just  as  reverently  in  their 
own  confinement  of  the  title  "  Word  of  God  "  to  Christ  himself.  Sat- 
isfied that  the  Scriptures  were  written  by  inspiration  of  God,  they 
dared  to  open  or  interpret  their  spiritual  meaning  under  no  other 
qualification  than  a  measure  of  that  in  which  they  were  written. 
Knowing  that  a  prophecy  of  Scripture  is  of  no  private  interpretation; 
but,  as  it  came  not  by  will  of  man,  no  more  can  it  be  so  interpreted; 
and  "  as  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,"  so  in  the  light  of  the  same  Spirit  must  the  sayings,  as  all  the 
other  "things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,"  be  spiritually  discerned;  and, 
when  rightly  called  for,  so  declared  to  others. 

Now,  since  "  a  measure  and  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
given  to  every  man  to  profit  withal,"  and  "  the  grace  of  God  which 
bringeth  salvation,  hath  appeared  to  all  men,  teaching  them,"  if  they 
will  heed  it,  the  essentials  of  life  and  salvation,  God  hath  neither  left 
himself  without  a  witness  for  Truth  to  every  man's  heart,  nor  man 
any  where  with  availing  excuse.  Since  "sin  is  the  transgression  of 
the  law,"  and  "  all  have  sinned,"  all  must  have  had  the  law,  or  evi- 
dence of  the  divine  will, — some  in  the  Scriptures,  and  all  mankind  by 
the  Spirit,  witnessing  in  their  hearts  against  sin.  "  For  where  no  law 
is,  there  is  no  transgression."  But  by  the  inward  witness  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  sin  is  disclosed  to  each  man  as  sin;  whereby  Christ  fulfills  his 
promise,  if  he  should  go  away,  to  come  again  and  "  convince  the  world 
of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment."  And  if  under  this  con- 
viction for  sin  there  is  a  faithful  repentance  toward  God,  a  saving  faith 
toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  imparted  by  the  same  Spirit  (even  to 
such  sincere  penitents  as  may  not  have  been  informed  of  his  outward 

*A  nickname,  as  in  most  cases  ha,Dpens,  more  persistent  than  the  adopted  name, 
and  started  by  Greorge  Fox's  bidding  a  magistrate  to  "  Tremble  at  the  word  of  the 
Lord." 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  161 

history,  yet  they  experience  the  spiritual  mystery)  to  give  us  to  feel 
our  transgriesson  forgiven  and  iniquity  pardoned,  not  for  works  of 
righteousness  that  we  may  have  done,  but  according  to  the  Father's 
mercy  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  laid  down  his  life,  "  the  just  for  the  un- 
just," a  "  Propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,"  that  we  "  be- 
ing reconciled  by  his  death,"  may  be  "  saved  by  his  life." 

Consistently  with  this  adherence  to  Christ  as  the  Word  of  God 
"  speaking  to  our  condition,"  as  we  reverently  wait  on  Him  to  know 
his  voice,  no  ministration  but  that  of  his  spirit  is  needed,  whether  vo- 
cally through  the  minister  or  "  in  the  silence  of  all  flesh,"  for  the  per- 
formance of  worship  acceptable  to  God, — a  worship  which  stands  not 
in  words,  or  forms  or  emblems,  but  must  be  "  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 
Here  no  words  of  man  are  a  part  of  worship,  except  under  a  fresh  re- 
quirement of  the  "  Head  overall  things  to  his  church  ";  whose  charge 
through  the  apostle  Paul  was,  "  If  any  man  speak,  let  him  speak  as  the 
oracles  of  God;  if  any  man  minister  let  him  do  it  as  of  the  ability  which 
God  giveth."  Ministry,  whether  it  be  exhortation,  teaching,  praise  or 
prayer,  under  such  immediate  putting  forth  of  Christ's  Spirit,  requires 
no  previous  intellectual  study  or  preparation;  but  may  be  exercised 
according  to  the  anointing  and  gift  whether  by  learned  or  unlearned, 
male  or  female.  For  "  There  is  neither  male  or  female:  for  ye  are  all 
one  in  Christ  Jesus."  And  the  dispensation  has  been  introduced  when 
the  Spirit  was  to  be  "  poured  out  on  all  flesh,"  and  "  your  sons  and 
your  daughters. — servants  and  handmaids — shall  prophesy."  (Acts  ii: 
17,  18).  And  Paul  who  forbade  women  to  speak  or  teach  in  the  church, 
in  the  human  sense  of  the  word,  was  careful  to  tell  how  women  should 
appear  wht .  they  should  speak  in  the  divine  sense, — when  they  should 
publicly  pray  or  prophesy. 

The  Friends  took  note  of  the  command  of  Christ:  "  Freely  ye  have 
received,  freely  give,"  in  its  application  to  the  ministry  of  the  gospel. 
Especially  as,  during  the  seasons  of  public  worship,  ministers  in  com- 
mon with  the  flock  were  to  "  wait  for  a  fresh  anointing  for  every  fresh 
service,"  no  sermons  had  to  be  prepared  outside  of  the  meetings  in  any 
such  way  as  to  prevent  ministers  earning  their  own  living,  after  the 
example  of  the  apostle  Paul.  Pastoral  care,  the  watching  over  one 
another  for  good,  was  the  common  duty  of  all  the  brethren.  So,  con- 
scientiously unable  to  "  preach  for  hire,  or  divine  for  money,"  and 
concerned  to  avoid  even  the  appearance  of  doing  so,  they  brought 
down  upon  themselves,  chiefly  by  this  one  testimony  against  a  "  hire- 
ling ministry,"  the  most  alarmed  vituperation  of  the  salaried  clergy; 
at  whose  instance  the  bulk  of  their  persecutions  thus  most  naturally 
came. 

Regarding  the  ceremonials  of  the  Old  Testament  law  as  types,  fig- 
ures and  object  lessons  of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  religion  of  Christ 
11 


162  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

■who  was  to  come;  and  that  he,  when  he  said  on  the  cross,  "  It  is  fin- 
ished," became  "  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one 
that  believeth  ";  and  that  every  outward  ordinance  of  the  former  dis- 
pensation was  obsolete  because  fulfilled  in  Christ  himself,  the  living 
Substance,  to  whom  all  types  and  shadows  that  went  before  pointed  ; 
—they  believed  it  to  be  his  will  that  the  spirit  and  not  the  forms  of 
those  ceremonials, — the  heavenly  things  themselves  and  not  the  im- 
ages of  those  things, — should  be  maintained  and  cherished  by  living 
experience.  The  Jewish  rite  of  water  baptism  and  the  passover  sup- 
per, as  outward  observances,  ended  like  all  the  others,  with  the  Old 
Dispensation, — the  baptism  of  John  as  a  prophet  under  that  dispensa- 
tion belonging  there,  while  he  with  his  master  distinctly  declared  that 
Christ's  own  baptism,  under  the  incoming  dispensation  of  "  One  Lord, 
one  faith,  tf«,?  baptism,"  should  be  the  baptism  of  the  "  Holy  Spirit  and 
of  fire."  Also  that  no  obligation  for  the  continuance  of  the  last  pass- 
over  supper,  as  an  outward  form,  is  found  in  any  more  definite  com- 
mand than  this, — in  the  fuller  sentence  as  quoted  by  Paul:— "This  do 
ye,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it,  in  remembrance  of  me  "; — a  condescension 
to  a  formed  habit,  with  the  command  resting  on  the  spiritual  side, — 
the  remembrance  of  him.  The  Friends  taught,  that  inward  submis- 
sion to  Christ's  spirit  as  the  bread  of  life  and  the  wine  to  be  drank 
"  anew  with  his  disciples  in  his  kingdom,"  is  the  table  of  communion 
at  which  he  would  "  sup  with  us  and  we  with  Him." 

When  the  details  of  one's  outward  conduct  or  speech  are  referred 
to  his  secret  sense  of  the  pure  will  of  Christ  in  his  heart,  the  consist- 
ent attempt  to  carry  out  the  light  of  truth  into  practice,  must  separ- 
ate the  servant  of  Christ  from  many  ways  and  modes  ol  lose  whose 
chief  guidance  is  the  prevailing  fashion  and  practice  of  the  times.  So 
looking  at  pure  and  simple  truth  as  a  guide,  the  Friends  could  not  ad- 
dress to  one  individual  the  plural  pronoun  "  you," — especially  when 
they  saw  that  the  use  of  it  had  its  root  in  vanity,  to  flatter  a  person  as 
amounting  to  more  than  one;  but  they  kept  to  the  original  thou  and 
thee  in  addressing  an  individual.  This  gave  offense  to  magistrates, 
confirming  the  Friends  in  their  conviction  that  it  "  pricked  proud 
flesh."  Regarding  also  the  appellations  Master  (or  Mr.),  Mistress  (or 
Mrs.),  Sir,  Honorable,  His  Grace,  Excellency,  or  Holiness,  etc.,  as 
springing  from  the  root  of  pride  in  man,  tending  to  feed  the  same,  and 
usually  not  founded  in  real  truth,  their  spirit  shrank  from  these  and 
all  merely  complimentary  expressions  and  flattering  titles,  as  incon- 
sistent with  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  Yet  in  the  exercise  of  genuine 
courtesy,  William  Penn  testifies  that  George  Fox  was  "  civil  beyond 
all  forms  of  breeding."  They  could  find  no  spiritual  warrant  in  mak- 
ing obsequious  distinctions  between  fellow-beings  in  what  they  termed 
"  hat-honor,"  and  would  retain  their  hats  on  their  heads  before  king 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS.  163 

and  peasant  alike.  It  also  seemed  to  them  beneath  a  Christian  to  bor- 
row his  names  for  days  and  months  from  heathen  worship,  as,  to  call 
the  fourth  day  of  the  week  Woden's  day  or  Wednesday,  or  recogniz- 
ing y"?^«o'j  right  to  be  worshipped  in  what  is  now  the  sixth  month,  or 
Augustus  to  be  adored  in  the  eighth.  The  Puritans  felt  the  same 
scruple  about  calling  the  first  day  of  the  week  Sunday.  Accordingly 
Friends  have  observed  the  numerical  names  of  days  and  months,  as 
Third-day,  Fifth  month,  etc.  Christ's  command  to  "  Swear  not  at  all," 
seems  to  them  imperative  against  swearing  at  all,  whether  in  courts 
of  justice  or  elsewhere,  with  any  manner  of  oath.  And  their  sense  of 
his  spirit  as  the  Prince  of  Peace  and  the  exponent  of  divine  love,  for- 
bids in  their  minds  any  participation  in  war  or  retaliation,  or  capital 
punishment.  Plainness  of  dress,  as  of  address,  must  follow  from  their 
principles;  and  while  they  prescribed  no  form  of  garb  as  a  rule,  yet, 
by  ceasing  to  follow  the  changing  fashions,  they  found  themselves  ere 
long  left  behind  in  a  garb  peculiar  to  themselves;  which,  on  finding  it 
served  as  a  hedge  against  the  spirit  and  maxims  of  the  world,  and 
served  as  a  visible  testimony  of  their  principles  before  the  public, 
Friends  have  even  yet  to  some  extent  retained,  in  proportion  to  their 
strenuousness  for  the  original  principles. 

Such  was  the  attempt  of  the  "  Friends  of  Truth,"  as  they  fre- 
quently styled  themselves,  to  get  back  out  of  the  corruptions  of  the 
church  at  large  to  first  principles  in  Christ :  or  to  represent  what 
William  Penn,  one  of  its  noble  converts,  claimed  to  be  "primitive 
Christianity  revived  "  ; — not  a  revelation  of  a  new  gospel,  but  "a  new 
revelation  of  the  old  gospel."  Theirs  was  certainly  not  a  .superficial 
doctrine,  and  as  it  insisted  on  a  corresponding  practice,  it  could  not 
be  expected  to  be  popular ;  or  to  escape  that  general  misunderstand- 
ing which  exposed  its  adherents  to  persecutions.  And  as  little  general 
openness  for  the  understanding  of  it  is  found  now,  in  the  present  day 
of  sensations,  when  entertaintnent  is  as  much  mistaken  for  worship,  as 
stated  observances  were  formerly. 

Barnstable  county  appears  foremost  in  early  Massachusetts  history 
as  a  representative, — imperfectly  so,  it  is  true,  but  most  creditably  for 
the  times, — of  the  spirit  of  religious  toleration.  In  what  other  county 
could  such  a  church  thus  early  and  numerously  have  gained  so  firm 
a  foothold  ?  And  what  was  the  state  of  the  community  so  preparatory 
for  the  Friends'  doctrine,  that,  within  a  year  from  the  signal  being 
sounded  by  Holder  and  Copeland,  a  larger  number  of  families  in 
-Sandwich  gathered  to  the  revived  standard,  than  can  be  found  pro- 
fessing with  Friends  there  now  ? 

The  "  ten  men  of  Saugus  "  who  began  the  settlement  at  Sandwich 
in  1637,  do  not  appear  to  have  been  imbued,  as  were  their  Puritan 
neighbors  whom  they  left  behind,  or  the  Puritanized  successors  of  the 


164  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Pilgrims  whom  they  passed  by  at  Plymouth,  with  determined  zeal  for  a 
theocracy, — or  establishing  on  the  Cape  a  church-state.  Had  they  felt 
most  thoroughly  at  home  in  the  intolerant  sectarian  atmosphere  of 
the  Salem  community,  why  did  they  separate  themselves  unto  a  dis- 
tinct locality  ?  Religious,  indeed,  they  evidently  were,— but  less  tied 
down  to 'dogma,  and  of  a  freer  spirit;  adventurous  enough  to  seek 
new  homes  again  ;  and  a  little  more  liberal  than  the  stayers  behind 
to  take  new  scenes,  new  comers  and  new  doctrines  on  their  merits. 

Dissensions  were  fermenting  in  the  Sandwich  church  for  several 
years  before  the  Friends  appeared.  Fines  and  penalties  were  imposed 
on  many  who  neglected  or  set  at  nought  the  stated  worship.  Some 
professed  to  "  know  no  visible  worship."  A  growing  movement  in 
favor  of  religious  liberty  and  toleration,  though  strongly  opposed  by 
the  government,  could  not  be  set  back.  And  for  three  years  before 
the  arrival  of  Holder  and  Copeland,  the  stated  pastorate  of  the  church 
in  Sandwich  had  been  discontinued.  The  pastor,  William  Leverich, 
himself  also  said  to  be  tinctured  with  toleration,  found  it  expedient, 
in  consequence  of  the  existing  unsettlement,  to  leave  the  flock  at 
Sandwich  in  1654  for  Long  Island.  Yarmouth  also  was  without  a 
pastor.  And  in  1659  we  find  the  court  still  censuring  the  neglect  of 
some  in  Yarmouth  to  support  the  ministry.  The  people  in  both  towns 
are  said  to  have  become  "  indifferent  to  the  ministry  and  to  exercise 
their  own  gifts."  The  doctrine  of  Friends  had  but  to  step  in  upon 
this  prepared  ground  and  say  that  vocal  ministry,  and  regulation 
preaching  at  that,  was  not  essential  for  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth  ; 
and  all  ministry  spurious  except  that  proceeding  from  the  immediate 
anointing  of  the  Head  of  the  church,  whose  messages  could  be  de- 
clared, as  by  the  fishermen-disciples  of  old,  without  the  learning  of 
the  schools  except  the  school  of  Christ ; — the  Friends  had  but  to  sound 
this  word,  to  discover  they  had  told  their  eager  hearers  nothing,  but 
had  only  clearly  formulated  what  they  had  already  vaguely  believed. 
So  the  thoughts  of  many  hearts  being  revealed,  neighbor  was  dis- 
closed to  neighbor  in  mutual  recognition,  resulting  in  open  fellow- 
ship in  a  new  church  profession. 

The  more  distingfuishing  principle  of  the  society  having  once 
found  entrance  in  Sandwich  on  the  question  of  worship  and  ministry, 
it  legitimately  followed  through  all  their  other  lines  of  faith  and  prac- 
tice. Just  as  in  this  latter  day  from  the  same  society  the  same  prin- 
ciples and  consequently  testimonies  begin  to  go  out  at  the  same  door, 
— namely,  the  practice  of  worship  and  ministry, — at  which  the}'  came 
in.  It  is  also  but  natural  that  the  easy  acquiescence  in  traditional 
principles  or  in  no  principles,  which  is  the  weakness  of  merely  birth- 
right membership,  should  be  but  as  a  rope  of  sand  to  bind  members 
to  the  original  profession ;  in  comparison  with  that  strong,  individual 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS.  165 

convincement  of  truth  by  which  new  members,  experiencing  the 
original  cost,  join  the  faith.  In  addition  to  this,  and  to  prevailing 
worldliness,  the  emigration  of  younger  members  from  the  meetings 
of  Sandwich,  Yarmouth,  and  Falmouth,  to  seek  livings  in  cities  or  in 
the  West,  has  largely  contributed  to  the  present  reduced  numbers  of 
the  society  in  these  parts. 

But  emigration  is  not  a  sufficient  explanation,  else  the  neighboring 
churches  should  be  found  similarly  diminished.  "Thou  hast  left  thy 
first  love,"  is  the  verdict  which  explains  the  thinning  out  of  Friends' 
ranks,  even  in  cities  of  Massachusetts  to  which  country-Friends'  chil- 
dren go.  The  movement  of  late  years  in  Friends'  meetings  to  borrow 
modes  and  principles  of  other  denominations  in  a  hope  of  holding  the 
interest  of  the  younger  members,  has  served  to  direct  the  young  peo- 
ple to  the  churches  and  systems  from  which  these  alleged  improve- 
ments came.  So  that  Friends'  meetings  thus  popularized  in  our  cities 
not  chargeable  with  emigration,  have  not  been  found  holding  their 
own. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  even  on  the  Cape  there  was  plenty  of  per- 
secution to  give  impetus  to  the  progress  of  the  revival.  It  raised  up 
sympathy  for  the  victims,  zeal  in  the  members,  and  inquiry  concern- 
ing their  principles  among  many.  Details  of  the  convictions,  fines, 
and  penalties  imposed  for  countenancing  Quakers,  attending  their 
meetings,  or  advocating  their  doctrines,  belong  to  our  more  local 
treatment  of  town  histories.  But  the  Sandwich  authorities  were  not 
altogether  willing  executors  of  the  harsh  orders  of  the  Plymouth  gov- 
ernment ;  and  the  neighborhood  which  had  the  best  opportunity  of 
understanding  the  Quakers,  became  the  least  inclined  to  harm  them. 
So  we  read  of  Holder  and  Copeland,  who  frequently  visited  the  flock 
here,  that  the  Sandwich  constable  refusing  to  whip  them,  a  Barnstable 
magistrate  gave  them  each  thirty-three  lashes,  "  with  a  new  torment- 
ing whip,  with  three  cords  and  knots  at  the  ends." 

Though  we  seem  to  give  to  the  Plymouth  government  the  credit 
of  much  of  the  distress  encountered  by  the  Friends  at  the  hands  of 
Sandwich  officers;  yet  let  us  make  haste  to  clear  the  Pilgrim  fathers 
from  the  charge  of  a  persecuting  spirit.  A  distinction  must  be 
made  between  the  Pilgrims,  who  sailed  in  the  Mayflower  in  1620  and 
came  to  Plymouth,  and  the  Puritans  who  sailed  in  1629  and  founded 
Boston.  The  Puritans  were  imbued  with  the  principle  of  a  state 
church ;  the  Pilgrims  were  Separatists,  and  they  knew  in  England 
what  it  was  to  be  persecuted  by  Puritans.  The  Puritans  of  Massa- 
chusetts bay  had  remained  in  the  church  of  England  as  long  as  pos- 
sible, and  they  continued  here  to  believe  in  a  union  of  church  and 
state.  In  coming  here  to  live  by  themselves,  they  did  not  mean  to 
have  such  union  weakened.     "The  order  of  the  churches  and  the 


166  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

commonwealth,"  wrote  Cotton,  "  is  now  so  settled  in  New  England 
that  it  brings  to  mind  the  new  heaven  and  new"  earth  wherein  dwells 
righteousness." 

The  Pilgrims  came  to  these  shores  not  primarily,  like  the  Puri- 
tans, to  secure  a  state  of  their  own  as  a  church  of  their  own,  but  to 
enjoy  religious  liberty.  Nevertheless  they  too,  as  Bancroft  says,  "  de- 
sired no  increase  but  from  the  friends  of  their  communion.  Yet  their 
residence  in  Holland  had  made  them  acquainted  with  various  forms 
of  Christianity;  a  wide  experience  had  emancipated  them  from  big- 
otry, and  they  were  never  betrayed  into  the  excesses  of  religious  per- 
secution." Thus  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth  before  they  were  super- 
seded by  the  Puritans  from  Massachusetts  bay,  were  prepared  to  be 
of  the  more  charitable  spirit  which  afterward  appeared  in  those  Sep- 
aratists from  the  Lynn  colony  who  sought  new  homes  in  Sandwich. 
But  when  Friends  first  appeared  and  were  maltreated  in  Boston  in 
1656,  and  other  Friends  found  a  foothold  in  Sandwich  in  1667,  almost 
the  last  of  the  Pilgrim  fathers  was  dead.  "  Plymouth  had  ceased  to 
be  an  independent  colony,  and  was  part  of  the  New  England  confed- 
eration*." There  was  enough  of  the  apparent  Pilgrim  spirit  left  in 
Plymouth  to  make  her  milder  towards  dissenters  than  the  Puritan 
church-state  at  Boston  could  bear  for  her  to  be;  and  there  were  enough 
of  the  descendants  of  the  Pilgrims  about  Boston  to  get  roughly 
handled  by  the  Puritans  "for  assisting  the  Quakers  and  boldly  oppos- 
ing persecution."  But  the  great  battle  for  religious  liberty  in  Massa- 
chusetts, of  which  Friends  took  the  brunt,  was  fought  by  the  Separa- 
tists of  the  southward  shores,  against  the  Puritans  at  the  north.  The 
blood  of  the  four  Friends  executed  on  Boston  common,  sealed  the  vic- 
tory for  religious  liberty  in  America. 

How  far  the  "  Right  arm  of  Massachusetts,"  as  Cape  Cod  has  been 
styled,  has  reaped  in  its  own  character  a  worthy  reward  for  magna- 
nimity in  shouldering  the  cause  of  religious  liberty  in  her  infancy, 
cannot  be  fully  measured  till  the  secret  workings  of  all  principles  are 
revealed.  That  the  so-called  Quaker  virtues  and  the  characteristic 
Cape  virtues  so  largely  coincide,  we  cannot  presume  to  say  is  chiefly 
traceable  to  the  influence  passing  into  the  county  through  the  Friends 
themselves.  No  real  Friend  would  so  claim.  "  Names  are  nothing," 
said  George  Fox,  "Christ  is  all."  The  same  well-spring  of  life  to 
which  he  pointed  men  only  to  "leave  them  there,"  has  watered  the 
land  through  many  a  human  channel  of  spiritual  influence,  under 
whatever  name.  But  a  standard  for  pure  truth,  when  exalted,  is  jus£  as 
effective  a  signal,  whether  held  in  few  hands  or  in  many.   It  is  inevitable 

*  "  And  now  the  Plymouth  saddle  is  on  the  Bay  horse,"  says  Ex-Judge  Cud  worth 
in  1658,  alluding  to  the  way  in  which  the  authorities  at  Plymouth  were  imitating  the 
methods  of  Massachusetts  bay  towards  the  Friends. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  167 

that  the  principles  held  forth  by  Friends  should  have  increased  a  dis- 
position to  look  at  the  true  inwardness  of  all  questions  and  subjects; 
to  strip  off  all  shams  and  be  satisfied  with  simple  truth  only;  to  de- 
spise show  and  look  for  genuine  substance,  and  to  render  "  Quaker 
measure  "  to  others;  to  value  straightforward  common  sense  rather 
than  brilliancy,  conscience  before  convenience,  honesty  above  policy, 
character  above  creed,  the  spirit  above  the  letter,  motives  above  move- 
ments, the  life  above  the  living: — to  respect  the  divine  spark  in  every 
human  being,  regardless  of  color  or  sex;  and  the  equality  of  all.  as  be- 
fore the  law  of  God,  so  before  the  law  of  the  land.  Simplicity  of  man- 
ners, genuineness  of  profession,  the  courage  of  one's  convictions,  plain 
living  because  of  "high  thinking,"  inward  retirement  of  mind  to  feel 
the  truth  of  one's  self,  a  yes  that  is  yes  and  a  no  that  is  no — and  so 
surer  than  most  oaths, — these  are  virtues  of  which  the  professed 
"  Friends  of  Truth  "  by  no  means  held  the  monopoly,  and  in  which 
individuals  among  them  as  in  every  other  flock  have  signally  failed; 
yet  the  banner  which  they  as  a  people  have  displayed  because  of  the 
truth,  is  one  which  the  life  and  character  of  our  county  could  ill  aflEord 
to  spare. 

The  preceding  view  of  the  establishment  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
in  the  county  has  been  necessarily,  to  that  extent,  a  history  of  the 
Sandwich  Society.  Afterward  a  branch  of  Sandwich  monthly  meet- 
ing became  established  in  West  Falmouth,  and  called  Falmouth 
Preparative  Meeting  of  Friends;  and  another  branch  at  South  Yar- 
mouth, called  Yarmouth  Preparative  Meeting.  Each  preparative 
meeting,  including  one  held  also  in  Sandwich,  sends  representatives 
to  each  session  of  the  monthly  meeting ;  which  is  held  six  times  a 
year  in  Sandwich,  four  times  at  Falmouth,  and  twice  at  Yarmouth. 
Formerly,  for  a  period,  some  sessions  of  Sandwich  monthly  meeting 
were  held  also  at  Rochester,  on  the  other  side  of  the  bay.  A  sketch 
of  the  history  of  each  of  the  Cape  meetings  of  Friends  will  now  be 
given,  beginning  with  Sandwich.* 

The  Society  in  Sandwich. — It  has  already  been  pointed  out  how 
the  Sandwich  community  was  prepared  for,  and  how  responsively,  in 
the  year  1657,  many  rallied  to  the  preaching  of  the  Word  by  the  newly 
arrived  Friends  Christopher  Holder  and  John  Copeland;  so  that  in  the 
very  next  year,  1658,  no  less  than  eighteen  families  in  Sandwich  appear 
as  acknowledged  adherents  of  the  new  Society. 

They  met  for  worship  at  the  houses  of  William  Allen,  William 

Newland,  Ralph  Allen,  and,  as  tradition  hands  it  down,  in  Christo- 

*  The  writer  having  had  but  few  hours'  opportunity  to  consult  the  original  records, 
has  availed  himself  of  a  considerable  part  of  the  notes  and  extracts  from  them  made  by 
the  late  Newell  Hoxie,  representing  careful  labor  on  his  part  continued  from  time  to 
time  for  years.  He  has  also  gleaned  freely  from  Freeman's  History  of  Cape  Cod,  and 
other  works. 


168  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

pher's  Hollow, — a  spot  believed  to  have  been  so  named  from  the 
preaching  of  Christopher  Holder  in  at  least  one  meeting  which  assem- 
bled in  that  woodland  retreat.  This  hollow  or  glen  may  now  be  ap- 
proached by  the  road  which  passes  the  alms-house  into  the  woods. 
Not  having  visited  the  spot  himself,  the  writer  here  presents  the 
description  of  a  visitor,  as  given  in  the  Falmouth  Local,  12th  mo., 
1887 : 

"  About  a  mile  southeasterly  of  the  village  of  Sandwich  is  a  deep 
sequestered  glen  or  hollow  in  the  wood.  There  is  no  spot  in  the 
county  of  Barnstable  more  secluded  or  lonely.  It  is  even  now  as 
primeval  in  appearance  as  it  was  on  the  day  the  Pilgrims  first  set  foot 
on  Plymouth  rock.  This  quiet  glen  is  surrounded  by  a  ridge  of  hills, 
covered  in  part  by  trees,  and  it  is  some  ]  25  feet  deep.  At  the  bottom 
are  to  be  seen  a  few  straggling  red-cedar  trees.  In  the  spring  and 
summer  a  small  stream  of  water  runs  into  this  glen,  which  keeps  up 
a  perpetual  murmur.  For  over  two  centuries  this  lonely  spot  has  been 
called  '  Christopher's  Hollow,'  in  memory  of  Christopher  Holder.  .  .  . 
In  1657,  immediately  after  the  severe  penal  acts  of  the  provincial  leg- 
islature were  passed,  this  small  and  sincere  band  of  Christian  worship- 
pers met  at  William  Allen's  house  on  Spring  Hill,  but  [afterward]  ad- 
journed to  this  sequestered  glen  to  offer  up  in  the  'darkling  woods' 
their  devout  supplications  to  Him  who  is  no  respecter  of  persons. 
Your  correspondent  visited  this  hollow  a  few  days  ago,  and  noticed, 
particularly  on  its  westerly  side,  a  row  of  flat  stones,*  which  are  be- 
lieved to  be  the  seats  on  which  this  meagre  congregation  sat,  and  list- 
ened to  the  heartfelt  teachings  of  Christopher  Holder." 

William  Allen's  house,  the  first  or  one  of  the  fir.st  meeting  places 
of  Friends,  stood  on  the  spot  where  Roland  Fish's  house  now  stands, 
the  first  house  by  the  road  leading  southward  from  the  present 
Friends'  meeting  house  in  Spring  Hill.  Near  the  southwest  corner 
of  the  house  is  the  first  burying  ground  of  the  Society,  now  enclosed 
by  an  iron  railing.  On  the  early  records  we  find  a  direction  "  that 
servants  shall  be  buried  on  the  side  next  the  swamp."  This  is  the 
half-acre  given  by  the  town  in  1694.  William  Newland's  house,  an- 
other of  the  first  meeting  places,  was  opposite  the  old  town  burying 
ground,  on  the  road  from  the  village  toward  Stephen  R.  Wing's.  [Of 
other  Friends  prominent  in  that  day,  William  Gifford  is  said  to  have 
lived  near  the  house  of  late  years  known  as  Russell  Fish's;  Edward 
Perry  near  Joseph  Ewer's  swamp,  or  opposite  his  house ;  and  Edward 
Dillingham,  (one  of  the  original  "ten  men  of  Saugus"  to  whom  Sand- 
wich lands  were  granted),  to  have  lived  on  the  hillside  east  of  the  up- 
per pond,  which  is  southeast  from  Stephen  R.  Wing's.     The  cellar  is 

*  These  stones  are  really  half -buried  boulders ;  quite  a  number  have  been  carried 
away. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS.  169 

said  to  be  still  there,  and  a  pear  tree  set  out  by  Edward  Dillingham. 
The  late  Newell  Hoxie,  being  able  to  designate  the  situation  of  sev- 
enteen of  the  Friends'  houses  of  1658,  once  remarked  to  the  writer, 
that  when  by  failing  health  he  was  laid  aside  from  attending  his 
meetings  for  public  worship,  he  would  often  carry  himself  in  fancy 
more  than  two  hundred  years  back,  and  trace  in  his  mind's  view  the 
goings  of  each  of  those  seventeen  families  from  their  respective 
homes,  as  they  took  their  several  paths  to  William  Allen's  house,  to 
meet  for  divine  worship  after  the  manner  of  Friends.] 

In  1657  (to  quote  from  Freeman)  complaint  was  make  to  the  gen- 
eral court  against  divers  persons  in  Sandwich  "  for  meeting  on  Lord's 
days  at  the  house  of  William  Allen  and  inveighing  against  ministers 
and  magistrates,  to  the  dishonor  of  God  and  the  contempt  of  govern- 
ment." Jane,  the  wife  of  William  Saunders,  and  Sarah,  the  daughter 
of  William  Kerby,  complained  of  "  for  disturbance  of  public  worship 
.and  for  abusing  the  minister,"  were,  on  being  summoned  to  court, 
sentenced  to  be  publicly  whipped.  William  Allen,  William  Kerby, 
and  the  wife  of  John  Newland  were  also  involved  in  these  difficulties. 
John  Newland  was  warned  by  the  court  to  suffer  no  Friends'  meeting 
to  be  kept  in  any  house  in  which  he  had  an  interest.  It  was  also 
ordered  that  "Nicholas  Upsall,  the  instigator"  of  all  this  mischief, 
"be  carried  out  of  the  government  by  Tristum  Hull,  who  brought 
him."  William  Newland,  a  prominent  citizen,  was,  "for  encouraging 
Thomas  Burges "  to  let  Christopher  Holder,  a  Quaker,  occupy  his 
house,  sentenced  to  find  sureties  for  his  own  good  behavior.  Ralph 
Allen,  "  for  entertaining  such  men  and  for  unworthy  speeches,"  was 
also  arrested  and  laid  under  bonds.  Henry  Saunders  was  arrested  and 
committed.  Edward  Dillingham  and  Ralph  Jones  were  also  arrested  ; 
Jones  was  fined  and  Dillingham  was  admonished.  Burges  expressed 
his  sorrow  for  what  he  had  done,  and  was  released.  This  year,  on  ac- 
count of  increasing  sympathy  with  the  Quakers  throughout  the  com- 
munity, a  marshal  was  provided  by  the  general  court  in  Plymouth  to 
do  service  in  Sandwich,  Barnstable,  and  Yarmouth. 

In  1658  Robert  Harper,  Ralph  Allen,  sr.,  John  Allen,  Thomas 
Greenfield,  Edward  Perry,  Richard  Kerby,  jr.,  William  Allen,  Thomas 
Ewer,  William  GiflFord,  George  Allen,  Matthew  Allen,  Daniel  Wing, 
John  Jenkins,  and  George  Webb,  "  none  of  them,"  says  Freeman, 
"  professed  Quakers  at  the  time,  though  several  of  them  afterward 
became  such,"  being  summoned  to  court  to  give  a  reason  for  not  tak- 
ing the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  government,  professed  that  they  held  it 
unlawful  to  take  the  oath,  and  all  were  fined.  Friends'  view  of  the 
unlawfulness  of  all  swearing,  or  oaths,  is  founded  on  Christ's  com- 
mand, "  Swear  not  at  all ;  "  which  is  amplified  in  the  epistle  of  James, 
"  But  above  all  things,  my  brethren,  swear  not,  neither  by  heaven, 


170  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

neither  by  the  earth,  neither  by  any  other  oath ;  but  let  your  yea  be 
yea,  and  your  nay,  nay;  lest  ye  fall  into  condemnation."  Their 
firm  adherence  to  this  command  was  much  misunderstood  by  oflBcers 
of  the  government,  and  even  by  the  clergy ;  and  was  the  pretext  for 
a  long  list  of  fines  and  dreary  penalties.  Some  of  these  Friends,  allud- 
ing to  their  sufferings  for  not  swearing,  remarked,  that  oath-taking 
was  "contrary  to  the  law  of  Christ,"  "whose  law,"  they  add,  "is  so 
strongly  written  in  our  hearts,  and  the  keeping  of  it  so  delightsome 
to  us ;  and  the  gloriousness  of  its  life  daily  appearing,  makes  us  to 
endure  the  cross  patiently,  and  suffer  the  spoiling  of  our  goods  with 
joy."* 

The  earliest  meetings  of  Friends  in  Sandwich,  even  in  1657,  in- 
cluded six  of  the  brothers  and  sisters  of  Ralph  Allen.  They  had  re- 
sided upwards  of  twenty  years  in  Sandwich  and  were  much  respected 
by  their  neighbors.  But  their  joining  the  new  sect  was  "  peculiarly 
annoying"  to  the  government,  and  they  were  among  the  first  to  be 
tested  by  the  oath  of  fidelity.  William  Newland  and  Ralph  Allen,  on 
refusing  to  relinquish  the  keeping  of  meetings  in  their  houses,  "  were 
committed  to  the  custody  of  the  marshal,  and  kept  close  prisoners  for 
five  months.  When  half  the  period  had  expired,  they  were  offered 
their  liberty  on  condition  of  engaging  not  to  receive  or  listen  to  a 
Quaker;  but  the  request  was  met  by  an  immediate  and  decided  nega- 
tive."t 

Under  the  law  now  prohibiting  the  frequenting  of  Friends'  meet- 
ings, William  Allen  was  fined  forty  shillings  for  permitting  a  meeting 
at  his  house.  Cudworth  says  of  another  session  of  the  court,  that  "  the 
court  was  pleased  to  determine  fines  on  Sandwich  men  for  meetings, 
sometimes  on  First-days  of  the  week,  sometimes  on  other  days,  as  they 
say:  They  meet  ordinarily  twice  in  a  week,  besides  the  Lord's  day, — 
150  pounds,  whereof  William  Newland  is  24  pounds  for  himself  and  his 
wife  at  Ten  Shillings  a  Meeting,  William  Allen  46  pounds,"  etc. 
William  Allen's  other  fines  and  distraints  amount  apparently  to  113 
pounds.  "  They  left  him  but  one  cow,"  says  Bishop,  "  which  they 
pretend  is  out  of  Pity;  but  what  their  pity  is,  more  than  a  Robbers  on 
the  Highway,  that  takes  away  all  a  man  hath,  and  then  gives  him  a 
penny,  I  leave  to  be  judg'd.  Also  they  took  from  William  Allen  one 
Brass  Kettle, — which  the  Governor  put  upon  him  for  his  Hat."  -  He 
also  went  to  Boston  prison.  When  the  marshal  took  the  goodwife's 
kettle  he  said  with  a  sneer,  "  Now,  Priscilla,  how  wilt  thou  cook  for 
thy  family  and  friends?  Thee  has  no  kettle."  Her  answer  was, 
"  George,  that  God  who  hears  the  ravens  when  they  cry  will  provide 
for  them.     I  trust  in  that  God,  and  I  verily  believe  the  time  will  come 

*  Norton's  Ensign,  p*  42. 
fBowden,  vol.  I,  p.  147. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  171 

when  thy  necessity  will  be  greater  than  mine."  This  marshal,  George 
Barlow,  would  boast,  "  That  he  would  think  what  Goods  were  most 
serviceable  to  the  Quakers,  and  then  he  would  take  them  away,  when 
he  went  to  distrain  for  the  fines.'"  "  But  now,"  says  Bishop  after- 
ward, "  being  grown  exceedingly  poor,  he  presumes  to  say,  '  He 
thought  the  Quakers  would  not  let  him  want.'  And  truly,  it  is  said, 
they  relieve  his  Children,  notwithstanding  all  the  Villany  that  he  hath 
shown  unto  those  people."  (New  England  Judg'd,  p.  389).  This 
drunken  marshal  and  tool  of  Plymouth's  blind  policy  is  said  to  have 
lived  to  fulfil  abundantly  Priscilla  Allen's  prophecy. 

The  following  scale  of  penalties  which  the  Plymouth  government 
required  Sandwich  magistrates  to  exact,  is  given  by  N.  H.  Chamber- 
lain in  his  interesting  article  on  Sandwich  and  Yarmouth  in  the  New 
England  Magazine,  11th  mo.,  1889: — "  Entertaining  a  Quaker,  even  for 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  cost  £^,  or  the  year's  pay  of  a  laboring  man.  If 
any  one  saw  a  Quaker  and  did  not  go  six  miles,  if  necessary,  and  in- 
form a  constable,  he  was  to  be  punished  at  discretion  of  the  court;  for 
allowing  preaching  in  one's  house,  40  s.,  the  preacher  40  s.,  and  each 
auditor  40  s.,  though  no  Quaker  spoke  a  word.  The  Quakers  were 
fined  for  every  Sunday  they  did  not  go  to  the  Pilgrim  meeting,  and 
for  every  Sunday  they  went  to  their  own.  In  three  years  there  were 
taken  from  them  cattle,  horses,  and  sheep  to  the  value  of  ;^700,  besides 
other  punishments." 

Other  names  and  cases,  equally  as  interesting  as  William  Allen's, 
cannot  here  be  detailed  with  the  same  fulness;  but  similar  recitals, 
with  more  or  less  suffering,  may  be  understood  with  each  name  on  the 
following  list  of  distraints  made  about  this  period  from  Friends  in 
and  near  Sandwich: — The  list  is  preserved  by  Besse,  as  follows: — 


£  8h. 

Robert  Harper 44    0 

Joseph  Allen 5  12 

Edward  Perry 89  18 

George  Allen 25  15 

William  Giflford 57  19 

WiUiam  Newland  ...  36    0 
Ralph  Allen,  jr 18    0 


£  sh. 

John  Jenkins  19  10 

Henry  Howland 1  10 

Ralph  Allen,  sen 68    0 

Thomas  Greenfield ...     4    0 

Richard  Kirby 57  12 

William  Allen 86  17 

ThomasEwer 25    8 


£  sh. 

Daniel  Wing 12    0 

Peter  Gaunt 43  14}^ 

Michael  Turner 13  10 

John  Newland 2    6 

Matthew  Allen 48  16 


£660  1M 


On  the  other  hand  we  cannot  say  that  unwise  provocations  were 
not  sometimes  given  by  individuals  reckoned  as  Quakers.  Some  ex- 
pressions made  to  magistrates  and  others,  whether  the  speakers  had 
been  goaded  into  them  or  not,  we  would  not  now  approve  as  proceed- 
ing from  the  principles  or  spirit  which  they  themselves  professed. 
And  some  extravagances  of  conduct,  in  exceptional  instances,  would 
in  this  and  should  for  that  day,  be  attributed  to  derangement  of  mind, 
from  which  members  of  no  denomination  are  found  exempt. 

The  noted  letter  of  James  Cudworth,  a  Puritan  and  a  judge  (who 


172  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

lost  his  place  by  entertaining  some  Friends  at  his  house),  written  in 
1658,  says  of  the  Friends  "  They  have  many  Meetings,  and  many 
Adherents;  almost  the  whole  Town  of  Sandwhich  is  adhering  towards 
them.  .  .  .  Sandwich  men  may  not  go  to  the  Bay  [or  Boston  col- 
ony] lest  they  be  taken  up  for  Quakers.  William  Newland  was 
there  about  his  Occasions  some  Ten  Days  since,  and  they  put  him 
in  Prison  24  hours,  and  sent  for  divers  to  witness  against  him;  but 
they  had  not  Proof  enough  to  make  him  a  Quaker,  which  if  they  had 
he  should  have  been  Whipped." 

In  1659  an  order  was  given  by  the  general  court  to  arrest  Quakers 
repairing  to  Sandwich  "  from  other  places  by  sea,  coming  in  at  Man- 
■nomett," — now  Monument.  Also  George  Barlow,  marshal,  was  or- 
dered to  take  with  him  a  man  or  two  and  make  search  in  the  houses 
of  William  Newland  and  Ralph  Allen  of  Sandwich  and  Nicholas  Davis 
of  Barnstable  for  Friends'  books  or  writings. 

In  1661  William  Newland  "  for  entertaining  a  strange  Quaker 
•called  Wenlocke  Christopherson  "  was  fined  five  pounds,  and  said 
Christopherson  was  .sent  to  prison  and  afterward  sentenced  "  to  lay 
neck  and  heels."  He  was  then  whipped  and  sent  away.*  Afterward 
in  Boston  he  was  sentenced  to  death,  but  was  released.  "William 
Allen  was  again  summoned  to  the  court  at  Plymouth  and  charged  with 
■entertaining  Christopher  Holder,  a  Quaker;  and  Wm.  Newland  and 
Peter  Gaunt  were  similarly  charged;  and  Lodowick  Hoxy  was  fined 
^0  shillings  for  not  assisting  marshal  Barlow.  The  following  were 
fined  ten  shillings  each  '  for  being  at  Quaker  meetings ':  Robert  Har- 
per and  wife,  John  Newland  and  wife,  Jane  Swift,  Matthew,  William, 
Joseph,  and  Benjamin  Allen,  William  Gifford,,  William  Newland  and 
wife,  the  wife  of  Henry  Dillingham,  Peter  Gaunt,  John  Jenkins, 
Richard  Kerby,  sr.,  Richard  Kerby,  jr.,  Obadiah  and  Dority  Butler." 

This  year,  1661,  marks  the  deliverance  of  Friends  in  the  colonies 
from  further  danger  to  their  lives  by  hanging  in  consequence  of  their 
profession.  William  Robinson,  Marmaduke  Stevenson,  Mary  Dyer 
and  William  Leddra  having  thus  been  executed  in  Boston,  Charles  II. 
was  induced  to  send  a  mandamus  to  New  England,  commanding  Gov- 
ernor Endicott  to  send  to  England  all  Quakers  who  were  under  con- 
■demnation  or  imprisonment.  This  put  a  stop  to  executions,  but  not 
to  persecutions.  The  Act  of  Toleration  under  William  and  Mary  was 
not  passed  till  1689. 

In  1674  "  Priest  John  Smith  "  and  others  are  said  to  have  caused 
Friends  to  be  recorded  as  non-townsmen, — probably  because  they 
■could  not  take  the  oath  of  fidelity.  It  was  because  it  was  an  oath,  and 
not  because  it  meant  fidelity,  that  Friends  felt  forbidden  to  swear  it. 
As  faithful  observers  of  the  law  of  the  land,  where  that  does  not  con- 

•Freeman  I,  p.  341. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  173 

travene  the  divine  law,  they  have  proved  themselves  exemplary  citi- 
zens. In  1675  they  were  invited  by  the  treasurer  of  the  town  to  sub- 
stitute something  for  an  oath.  The  firmness  of  this  Society  in  refusing- 
to  take  oaths  in  any  form,  has  since  been  respected  by  legislative  bod- 
ies both  in  America  and  in  England,  which  have  authorized  a  form 
of  affirmation  to  be  taken  by  Friends  and  others  instead  of  an  oath. 
By  substituting  passive  for  active  resistance  to  oppressive  laws,  thev 
have  on  other  subjects  also  converted  oppression  into  concession:  as 
in  the  requirement  to  bear  arms  or  otherwise  to  deny  their  testimony 
for  the  Prince  of  Peace,  also  in  the  matter  of  taxes  for  the  support  of 
a  paid  ministry.  In  1686  Edward  Randolph,  who  had  some  sixteen 
times  been  sent  over  from  England  in  consequence  of  complaints 
made  by  Friends  and  others,  wrote  as  follows  to  Governor  Hinckley: 
"  Perhaps  it  will  be  as  reasonable  to  move  that  your  colony  be  rated 
to  pay  our  minister  of  the  church  of  England  who  now  preaches  in 
Boston  and  you  hear  him  not,  as  to  make  the  Quakers  pay  in  your 
colony."  Thus  the  stand  made  by  Friends  on  the  Cape  was  steadily 
opening  the  way  for  liberty  to  all.  In  the  words  of  Brooks  Adams  on 
the  "  Emancipation  of  Massachusetts,"  referring  to  the  Friends  by 
whose  suffering  he  says  "  the  battle  in  New  England  has  been  won  ": 
— "  At  the  end  of  21  years  the  policy  of  cruelty  had  become  thorough- 
ly discredited,  and  a  general  toleration  could  no  longer  be  postponed; 
but  the  great  liberal  triumph  was  won  only  by  heroic  courage  and 
by  the  endurance  of  excruciating  torments." 

We  may  leave  our  fragmentary  specimens  of  the  period  of  intoler- 
ance, with  the  acknowledgment  that  their  townsmen  in  general  ap- 
pear to  have  taken  no  pleasure  in  the  hardships  inflicted  on  Friends. 
They  elected  Friends  to  responsible  offices  even  while  the  sect  seemed 
outlawed  by  the  Plymouth  court;  whose  marshal,  Barlow,  had  none  of 
their  sympathy  in  his  unsavory  doings.  Freeman  characterizes  the 
Friends  as  regarded  at  heart  by  their  Sandwich  neighbors,  as  "  ever 
among  our  best  and  most  esteemed  citizens,  benevolent  and  kind,  pure 
in  morals,  and  most  deservedly  honored." 

Sandwich  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  town  on  the  conti- 
nent of  America  to  establish  a  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the  Society 
of  Friends.  That  meeting,  set  up  in  the  year  1658,  has  continued  its 
monthly  sittings  in  unbroken  succession,  so  far  as  we  know,  ever  since. 
They  are  still  (though  changes  of  the  time  have  been  tried  for  brief 
periods)  held  at  the  same  hour  of  the  same  day  of  the  week  on  which 
they  were  appointed  to  be  held  by  the  first  minute  of  the  first  existing 
record  book  of  the  meeting.  The  said  minute  is  as  follows:  "  At  a 
mans  meeting  kept  at  Will'm  Aliens  house  ye  25  day  of  ye  4th  mo'th 
in  ye  year  1672.  At  w'h  meetting  it  is  concluded  and  ordered  y't  for 
ye  future  a  mans  meetting  be  kept  ye  first  six  day  of  ye  week  in  every 


174  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

itio.  and  for  friends  to  come  together  about  ye  eleventh  hour."  A 
marginal  note  written  beside  this  minute  says:  "  This  was  ye  first 
mans  meeting  that  was  kept  by  flfriends  in  sandwich  that  is  re- 
corded." 

Accordingly  we  may  understand  that  no  records  of  the  monthly 
meetings  between  the  years  1658  and  1672  were  kept;  or  if  the  min'- 
tites  were  made,  they  were  not  kept  in  book  form.  It  was  in  the  7th 
month  of  this  year  that  "  It  was  ordered  y't  Will'm  Newland  buy  a 
book  for  friends  use  and  truths  service."  Edward  Perry  appears  to  be 
the  clerk,  and  his  hand-writing  in  these  minutes  very  creditable. 

It  may  be  that  Edward  Perry  was  earliest  in  the  annals  of  Sand- 
wich authorship.  His  published  religious  writings  bear  date  between 
the  years  1676  and  1690,  and  titles  like  the  following: — "A  Warning 
to  New  England  "  ;  "  To  the  Court  of  Plimouth,  this  is  the  Word  of 
the  Lord";  "A  Testimony  concerning  the  Light";  "  Concerning  True 
Repentance,"  etc.  He  died  in  1694.  We  are  not  aware  that  more 
than  one  copy  of  any  of  his  writings  remain  in  print. 

The  second  entry  for  4th  mo.  contains  an  appointment  of  John 
Stubs  and  Robert  Harper  to  know  and  report  the  reasons  why  Peter 
Gaunt  "absents  from  friends' meettings."  His  answer  reported  next 
month  was :  "  That  he  doth  not  know  any  true  publick  vissible  wor- 
ship in  ye  world."  This  was  the  same  answer  which  he  had  given 
sixteen  years  before  to  the  Plymouth  court,  before  any  of  the  Quaker 
name  had  arrived  in  Sandwich.  For  we  read  that  Peter  Gaunt  being 
•called  upon  by  the  court  to  answer  for  not  frequenting  the  public 
worship  of  God,  affirmed  that  he"knew^  no  public  visible  worship"; 
and  Ralph  Allen,  whose  seven  children  were  among  the  first  to  join 
Friends,  took  similar  ground.  The  answer  oi  another  who  had  been 
likewise  waited  upon  by  a  committee  the  same  month,  "  forasmuch  as 
he  was  once  convinced  of  the  truth,"  was  "  That  his  ground  and 
reason  was  knowne  unto  himselfe  and  he  was  not  willing  y'  it  should 
^oe  any  further  at  present."  Next  month  his  answer  was  "much  as  it 
was  before  :  or  as  a  man  Gon  from  truth."  And  we  find  this  same  de- 
linquent patiently  dealt  with  even  for  two  years ;  for  his  answer  in 
1674  was,  "  That  he  could  not  come  amongst  us  till  the  power  did  make 
iim  or  work  it  in  him."  In  1673  the  answer  of  William  Allen's  brother 
was,  "  That  he  was  not  so  convinced  as  they  might  think  he  was."  But 
in  process  of  time  some  of  these  and  similar  cases  were  restored  to 
.attendance  of  meetings.  Even  Peter  Gaunt  was  fined  more  than  once 
for  attending  them. 

The  following  curious  minute  has  been  handed  down  as  issued  by 
Sandwich  monthly  meeting  in  one  of  its  occasional  sittings  at  Fal- 
mouth: "20th  of  the  9th  mo.,  1688.  It  is  concluded  that  the  Friends 
.appointed  in  every  particular  meeting  shall  give  notice  publicly  in  the 


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THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  175 

meeting  that  cross-pockets  before  men's  coats,  side-slopes,  broad  hems 
on  cravats,  and  over-full  skirted  coats  are  not  allowed  by  Friends." 

In  1688  a  clergyman  by  the  name  of  Pierpont,  of  Roxbury,  who  on 
invitation  preached  at  times  in  Sandwich,  records  in  his  diary:- — "I 
had  inclined  to  go  to  Sandwich,  first,  because  I  saw  there  was  an  op- 
portunity to  do  service  for  Christ  in  that  place;  second,  the  generality 
of  the  people,  except  Quakers,  were  desirous  of  my  coming  amongst 
them ;  third,  the  young  men  of  the  place  were  in  danger  of  being 
drawn  away  by  the  Quakers,  if  a  minister  were  not  speedily  settled 
among  them." — During  the  preceding  pastorate  mention  is  found  of 
one  man,  "  a  member  of  the  church,  proselyted  to  the  Quakers  by  one 
John  Stubbs."  In  1696  the  town  assigned  a  salary  of  ;^80  to  Roland 
Cotton  as  pastor  of  the  church,  "provided  he  shall  remit  yearly  tte 
proportion  of  all  those  neighbors  generally  called  Quakers."  And  yet, 
by  a  monthly  meeting's  minute  of  3d  mo.,  1712,  it  is  recorded  that  John 
Wing  and  Daniel  Allen  "  gave  account  that  they  had  found  out  the 
proportion  between  Priest  Rate  and  Town  and  County,  and  the  Priest 
part,  which  Friends  cannot  pay,  is  near  one  half,  lacking  one  half  of 
one  third  of  the  whole." 

Of  a  history  of  the  Friends'  meeting  houses  in  Sandwich,  we  have 
materials  for  a  concise  account.  In  the  7th  month,  1672,  the  monthly 
meeting  is  recorded  as  "held  at  our  meeting  house."  In  1674,4th  mo., 
the  meeting  house  is  spoken  of  as  enlarged  ;  and  five  years  after,  a 
record  is  made  of  finishing  the  meeting  house.  In  1694,  according  to 
the  town's  record, "  The  town  did  give  to  those  of  their  neighbors  called 
Quakers  half  an  acre  of  ground  for  a  burial  place*  on  the  hill  above 
the  Canoe  swamp  between  the  ways."  In  1703^,  First  mo.,  a  quarterly 
meeting's  committee  was  instructed  to  pitch  upon  a  place  to  set  the 
new  meeting  house ;  and  in  the  3d  mo.  it  was  concluded  to  get  a  new 
meeting  house.  In  1704,  1st  mo.,  Robert  Harper  was  appointed  to 
b)uild  a  new  meeting  house  for  ;^111,  "except  the  glass,  plastering, 
and  ground-pinning."  One  was  to  get  the  shells  for  lime,  another 
wood,  another  stone,  and  "  Lodowick  Hoxie  to  Diet  the  carpenters  for 
his  share."  In  1709  it  was  proposed  to  build  "  a  small  meeting  house  "  ; 
and  the  next  year  £Q,  12^s.  were  subscribed  to  build  a  stable.  In  1723, 
£28,  5s.  were  subscribed  "  to  enlarge  the  S7nan  meeting  house,  under- 
pin the  large  meeting  house,  and  build  a  shed."  The  work  was  done 
b)y  Joseph  Show.  In  1740  it  was  concluded  to  hold  a  preparative 
meeting  in  Sandwich  ;  and  in  1745  the  preparative  meeting  purchase 
"  the  remainder  of  the  gore  of  land,  about  one  and  one-fourth  acres, 
near  the  meeting  house  for  a  cemetery  which  is  near  the  old  one."  In 
1757  it  is  ordered  to  "  add  16  feet  front,  width  and  height  the  same, 
to  the  great  meeting-house."     Apparently   after  this    date   women 

*  Now  enclosed  by  an  iron  railing,  near  the  southwest  comer  of  Roland  Fish's  house. 


176  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Friends  begin  to  hold  a  preparative  meeting  like  the  tnen  Friends. 
In  1793,  11th  mo.,  measures  were  taken  to  build  a  porch  to  the  meet- 
ing house. 

The  third  meeting  house,  48  by  36  feet  in  size,  now  in  use,  was 
built  in  1810  on  the  site  of  the  first,  costing  two  thousand  dollars. 
Sandwich  Friends  at  first  gave  $723  toward  it,  Falmouth  $24,  Yar- 
mouth $120.  The  old  meeting  house  was  sold  for  one  hundred  dol- 
lars. In  1822  the  remaining  amount  of  the  cost,  principal  and  inter- 
est, was  paid  over  to  the  quarterly  meeting's  treasurer. 

In  1715  Benjamin  Holme,  an  English  minister  traveling  in  religious 
service,  records  in  his  journal  that  he  "went  to  the  yearly  meeting 
at  Sandwich,  where  one  Samuel  Osbourne,  a  schoolmaster,  made  .'■cme 
opposition."  This  resulted  in  a  pretty  extensive  setting  forth  of 
Friends'  views  on  the  Scriptures  and  on  perseverance  in  grace. 

In  1770  a  voluntary  payment  was  made  by  the  Friends'  meeting  to 
relieve  "the  charge  the  town  had  been  at  on  account  of  a  poor  woman 
belonging  to  said  Meeting."  It  has  been  the  rule  with  the  Society  to 
maintain  their  own  destitute  members  without  recourse  to  the  town's 
provision  for  the  poor.  Also  when  ministers,  with  the  approval  of 
their  proper  meeting,  are  traveling  in  religious  service,  to  provide  for 
their  expenses  from  place  to  place,  if  their  circumstances  require  it. 
As  far  back  as  1677  we  find  by  a  monthly  meeting's  minute  that  horses 
were  to  be  provided  for  "  Travelling  Friends  "at  the  meeting's  ex- 
pense. 

In  the  conducting  of  these  monthly  meetings  which  appear  so  promi- 
nently in  the  regulation  of  church  affairs  among  Friends,  the  only 
officer  known  is  the  one  who  sits  as  clerk  of  the  meeting.  Under  the 
profession  that  "  Christ  is  head  over  all  things  to  his  church,"  and  ac- 
cordingly the  mind  of  Christ  is  devoutly  to  be  referred  to  and  waited 
for  in  deciding  church  affairs,  Friends  have  presumed  to  name  no 
other  presidency  than  his  over  their  monthly  or  other  meetings  for 
discipline  ;  but  they  simply  appoint  a  clerk  to  record  the  sense  of  the 
meeting  when  that  is  ascertained.  This  "  sense  of  the  meeting,"  it  is 
trusted,  is  the  product  of  the  judgment  of  truth,  or  witness  of  Christ's 
spirit,  which  individual  members,  when  apprehending  they  have  a 
sense  thereof  on  any  question,  announce  as  his  or  her  view  of  the 
case.  And  the  clerk,  without  taking  a  vote  or  any  reference  to  ma- 
jorities, is  to  gather  and  record  what  appears  the  prevailing  judgment 
of  truth  as  expressed  by  the  members.  The  Head  of  the  church  is 
majority  enough,  though  he  find  expression  through  but  one  voice. 
This  conduct  of  Christian  church  government  throws  great  spiritual 
responsibility  on  them  that  sit  in  judgment,  to  whom  Christ  is  prom- 
ised to  be  "  a  spirit  of  judgment " ;  and  will  largely  be  admitted  to  be 
consistent  with  the  true  theory  for  a  pure  church.     But  for  a  church, 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  177 

though  not  pure  yet  prevailingly  sincere,  this  principle  has  been  found, 
while  helping  to  make  it  more  pure,  to  work  at  least  as  harmoniously, 
peaceably  and  satisfactorily  as  the  more  human  modes  of  moderator- 
ship  elsewhere  resorted  to  in  deliberative  bodies. 

The  clerks  of  Sandwich  monthly  meeting  who  appear  to  have 
resided  in  Sandwich,  have  been,  so  far  as  can  be  gathered  from  the 
records:  Edward  Perry,  serving  1672-94 ;  another  not  named,  1694- 
1709  ;  Edward  Perry,  jr.,  1709-12;  then  three  unnamed  clerks,  serving 
respectively  1712-19,  1719-20,  1720-22;    Humphrey  Wady,  1722-42; 

Daniel  Wing,  1743-45;  Seth  Hiller, ;  Samuel  Wing  and  Daniel 

Wing,  1755  ;  Timothy  Davis,  1755-65 ;  Nicholas  Davis,  1765  ;  Ebenezer 
Allen,  to  2d  mo.,  1786;  Jeremiah  Austin,  1787-90;  Obadiah  Davis, 
1790-95;  Stephen  Wing,  1795-6;  John  Wing,  1801-10.  The  other 
clerks*  were,  at  the  time  of  their  service,  residents  of  Falmouth,  ex- 
cept Richard  Delino  (1765  and  1786-7)  of  Rochester,  and  David  K. 
Akin  of  Yarmouth,  (1849-61). 

Doubtless  there  were  not  a  few  ministers  in  the  Sandwich  meeting 
from  the  first.  But  the  list  of  those  recorded  does  not  begin  till  the 
year  1789,  when  we  find  Anna  Allen  and  Samuel  Bowman  acknowl- 
edged ;  Benjamin  Percival,  1808  ;  Anna  D.  Wing,  1838  ;  David  Dudley, 
who  moved  hither  from  Maine  in  1838;  Newell  Hoxie,  1846;  Mercy 
K.  Wing.  1851  ;  Presbury  Wing,  1852;  Elizabeth  C.  Wing,  1862;  Han- 
nah S,  Wing,  1883. 

"  The  principle  was  from  the  first  recognized  by  George  Fox  and 
his  brethren,  that  the  true  call  and  qualification  of  ministers  can  be 
received  only  from  the  great  Head  of  the  church  Himself,  and  that 
the  church  has  only  to  judge  of  the  reality  of  the  call,  and  to  watch 
over,  encourage,  and  advise  those  who  are  entrusted  with  such  gift. 
Even  the  recognition  of  ministers,  as  such,  in  the  Society  was  of  an  in- 
direct and  informal  character  for  many  years  after  its  establishment. 
Those  who  spoke  frequently  and  acceptably  were  asked  to  occupy  a 
raised  seat,  facing  the  body;  but  then,  as  now,  this  was  adopted  as  a 
matter  of  convenience,  not  of  ecclesiastical  distinction  or  superiority. 
Before  long  it  was  found  needful  to  give  certificates  of  membership 
to  those  who  removed  from  one  meeting  to  another;  and  about  the 
same  time  a  necessity  was  felt  for  giving  similar  credentials  to  those 
who  left  their  homes  to  travel  in  the  service  of  the  gospel.  But  more 
than  one  hundred  years  had  elapsed  before  formal  recognition  was 
adopted.  But  from  mention  in  various  journals  we  find  the  number 
was  large." 

We  found  in  1658,  almost  in  the  first  year  of  this  religious  Society 

*  The  Sandwich  women  who  have  been  monthly  meeting  clerks  in  recent  times, 
were  :  Mary  R.  Wing,  1850-51  ;  Elizabeth  C.  Wing.  1851-2  and  1856-69  ;  Rebecca  D. 
Ewer,  1876-83  and  1885-87  ;  Lucy  S.  Hoxie,  1863-85  and  1887  to  present  time. 

12 


1-78  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

in  Sandwich,  eighteen  families  professing  to  be  its  adherents.  In 
1769  a  committee  of  the  town  report  that  there  are  sixty  families  of 
Friends  or  Quakers  whose  rates  are  not  available  for  the  support  of 
the  ministry.  Now,  in  1890,  most  of  the  younger  natives  of  the  Sand- 
wich membership  are  dispersed  throughout  the  country  to  gain  a 
livelihood,  or  have  joined  other  associations:  leaving  fragments  of 
about  eleven  families  remaining,  the  present  membership  numbering 
40  individuals.  But  the  purity  of  a  principle  cannot  fairly  be  tested 
by  the  number  of  its  human  adherents.  The  world  will  love  its  own; 
and  a  Society  supposed  to  represent  spirituality  or  self-denial,  cannot 
easily  be  popular.  Nor  on  the  other  hand,  in  the  guise  of  an  imitator, 
could  it  be  respected.  By  divine  grace  to  be  staunch  to  its  special 
message,  the  Society  was  what  it  was.  The  same  grace,  uncompro- 
misingly adhered  to,  alone  is  able  to  keep  it  from  falling,  and  give 
vigor  yet  to  .shake  itself  from  the  dust  of  the  earth. 

Newell  Hoxie,  the  youngest  child  of  Joseph  and  Deborah  (Wing) 
Hoxie,  was  born  in  East  Sandwich  in  1803.  In  1842  he  married  Re- 
becca Chipman,  of  Sandwich.  Both  will  be  remembered  by  many  as 
successful  teachers  of  schools  in  Dennis,  Barnstable,  and  Sandwich. 
Both  were  marked  by  mental  endowments,  literary  interest,  and  deep 
thoughtfulness  of  no  common  order.  With  the  exception  of  eighteen 
years  passed  in  West  Falmouth,  he  was  a  resident  of  Sandwich  all  his 
life.  The  impress  which  his  life  has  made  upon  the  character  of  the 
■w.estern  portion  of  the  county  in  these  two  neighborhoods  of  his  resi- 
dence, has  been  chiefly  as  a  leading  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 
In  intimate  knowledge  of  its  history  he  stood  confessedly  foremost, 
a-nd  in  the  maintenance  of  its  original  principles  he  was  devoutly 
concerned.  Perhaps  no  member  of  that  Society  in  Sandwich  monthly 
meeting  (which  includes  Falmouth  and  Yarmouth)  has  for  a  longer 
period  been  prominent  in  its  counsels,  or  more  uniformly  deferred  to 
.  in  the  conservative  shaping  of  its  course.  His  influence  was  also 
largely  respected  in  the  counsels  of  New  England  Yearly  Meeting  at 
large.  A  minister  in  that  Society  for  thirty-eight  years,  he  often 
visited  during  this  time  the  Friends'  meetings  of  New  England,  and 
twice  those  of  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick.  He  died  in  1884, 
aged  80  years.  With  him  has  departed  an  invaluable  fund  of  infor- 
mation, which  cannot  now  be  replaced,  relating  not  only  to  the  history 
of  his  religious  Society,  but  to  that  of  his  native  county  and  its 
families. 

The  Society  in  Yarmouth. — The  community  of  Friends  at  Bass 
River  has  so  long  given  character  to  the  neat  and  peaceful  village  of 
South  Yarmouth,  that  it  is  still  familiarly  known  as  "Quaker  village." 
But  it  was  over  the  river,  in  South  Dennis,  where  their  first  meeting 
house  stood. 


-4 


y/i^t^iJ{f  /^, 


:7^:^ 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS.  179 

So  free  from  molestation  were  the  first  Friends'  families  in  this 
neighborhood,  that  no  ripple  in  the  current  of  history  appears  to  have 
been  produced  by  their  presence  here,  sufficient  to  leave  a  trace  of  the 
time  of  their  first  settlement.  John  Wing,  from  Sandwich,  in  1659, 
was  building  a  house  in  the  Yarmouth  jurisdiction;  a  John  Dillingham, 
from  Sandwich,  early  became  a  landholder  in  Dennis  and  Brewster, 
residing  near  Bound  Brook.  It  was  in  his  house  and  Henry  Jones' 
that  the  first  Friends'  meetings  of  which  we  have  record  were  held, 
as  appears  by  the  following  minute, — which  seems  to  relate  to  bi- 
monthly meetings  for  discipline  or  society  bu.siness,  rather  than  their 
probably  much  more  frequent  meetings  for  divine  worship.  If  their 
Sandwich  neighbors  early  began  holding  at  least  three  meetings  a 
week, — two  on  week-days  besides  First-day, — the  kind  of  convince- 
ment  which  produced  Friends  in  that  day  must  in  Yarmouth  also  have 
brought  them  together  for  worship  as  often  as  once  a  week: — 

"At  our  Mens  Meeting  at  William  Aliens  first  day  of  the  2  mo.  1681. 
— At  this  meeting  it  was  ordered  concerning  the  setting  of  the  meet- 
ings at  Yarmouth.  Whereas  it  was  ordered  to  be  kept  upon  the  first 
day  of  the  week  in  every  other  mo.  It  is  now  ordered  at  the  6th  day 
of  the  week  in  every  other  month  and  the  meeting  to  be  kept  at  Henry 
Jones  his  house.  The  next  to  be  kept  at  John  Dillingham's  and  so 
continue  to  be  kept  at  those  two  houses,  and  the  first  meeting  to  be  at 
John  Dillingham's  which  will  be  the  2d  Sixth-day  of  the  week  in  the 
next  3d  month." 

In  1683  a  "  monthly  meeting  "  at  Yarmouth  is  spoken  of  in  the 
Sandwich  minutes.  This  may  have  been  one  of  the  occasional  sittings 
of  Sandwich  monthly  meeting  there,  such  as  were  sometimes  held 
also  at  Falmouth,  before  the  present  division  of  sessions  between  the 
three  towns  became  settled. 

In  1697  the  town  ordered  "  that  the  Quakers  be  rated  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  ministry,  but  that  the  tax  be  made  so  much  larger  that 
Mr.  Cotton  may  have  his  full  salary," — probably  without  drawing  on 
the  Friends  for  their  rate.  And  in  1717  an  appropriation  was  made 
to  build  a  meeting  house  for  the  town, — "  the  Quakers  to  be  exempted 
from  the  charge."  Also  it  was  "  voted  that  such  of  our  inhabitants 
as  are  professed  Quakers  be  freed  from  paying  the  minister's  rate." 

In  1703  a  committee  is  sent  to  urge  Yarmouth  and  Falmouth 
Friends  to  attend  the  monthly  meetings  more  faithfully. 

In  1709,  1st  mo.,  Yarmouth  Friends  requested  liberty  of  Sandwich 
monthly  meeting  to  hold  a  preparative  meeting.  In  11th  mo.  a 
"  Man's  meeting"  at  John  Wing's  is  mentioned;  and  1st  mo.,  1710, 
one  at  John  Dillingham's.  As  the  same  request  to  hold  a  preparative 
meeting  was  made  one  hundred  years  later,  it  would  seem  that  the 
first  was  unsuccessful.      It  is  the  opinion  of  an  aged  Friend,  judging 


180  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

from  memory,  that  the  preparative  meeting  at  Yarmouth  was  estab- 
lished about  the  time  when  the  present  meeting  house  was  built,  in 
1809.  Another,  of  venerable  age,  Ezra  Kelley  of  New  Bedford,  who 
attended  meeting  in  the  old  house,  believes  it  was  not  established  till 
some  years  after. 

In  1710  it  was  proposed  that  Sandwich  monthly  meeting  hold  a 
monthly  meeting  at  Yarmouth  and  one  at  Falmouth;  which  was  al- 
lowed for  Falmouth,  but  naught  appears  as  regards  Yarmouth. 

The  meeting  house  in  Dennis  was  probably  built  about  the  year 
1714,  as  the  date  is  estimated  by  so  careful  an  authority  as  Newell 
Hoxie.  Mention  of  the  house,  however,  does  not  appear  in  the  month- 
ly meeting  minutes,  until  1720. 

In  1717  John  Wing  was  appointed  to  inform  Yarmouth  Friends 
that  if  they  did  not  attend  monthly  meeting  better,  they  would  be 
turned  over  to  the  quarterly  meeting.  They  promised  to  do  better. 
For  the  past  fifty  years,  at  least,  no  such  complaint,  considering  their 
numbers,  could  be  made  of  Yarmouth  members;  some  of  whom  have 
been  among  the  most  steadfast  in  keeping  up  the  attendance  of  the 
monthly  meetings.  And  they  have  made  the  attendance  at  Yarmouth, 
whenever  the  monthly  meeting  is  held  there,  so  very  attractive  by 
their  hospitality  as  to  need  no  committee  to  enforce  attendance  from 
Sandwich  and  Falmouth.  Yet  no  longer  do  the  wild  deer  of  the  Wa- 
quoit  woods,  the  forest  of  the  Mashpee  Indians,  the  sober  villages  of 
Cotuit,  Centreville,  Marston's  Mills,  Hyannis,  and  South  Sea,  view  the 
quaint  procession  of  Quaker  carriages  wending  their  way  of  thirty 
miles  through  the  sands  of  summer  or  the  snows  of  winter,  between 
Falmouth  and  Bass  river,  to  attend  the  monthly  meetings.  No  longer 
does  Cotuit  behold  them  halting  at  Hinckley's, or  Heman  Crocker's,  as 
a  half-way  house,  for  a  dinner  and  a  "  nooning  ";  or  returning  the  day 
after  the  meeting  in  the  same  deliberate  style,  satisfied  with  the  social 
privileges  of  Quakerism,  and  stronger  for  the  next  month's  battle  of 
life.  The  railroad  has  undone  all  this,  and  robbed  these  monthly 
meeting  excursions  of  time  for  that  social  commingling  of  neighbor- 
hood with  neighborhood,  which,  in  the  days  when  they  carried  their 
boys  and  girls  to  monthly  meetings,  helped  to  hold  the  rising  genera- 
tion to  the  Society. 

The  old  meeting  house  in  Dennis  had  stood  for  about  fifty  years, 
when  in  1765  Yarmouth  Friends  request  liberty  to  repair  it,  or  rebuild. 
Permission  was  granted,  and  John  Kelley  and  Hattil  Kelley  were  ap- 
pointed to  attend  to  it.  Timber  was  bought  to  repair  it,  and  Falmouth 
and  Sandwich  contribute  money  for  the  cost.  It  was  found  that  to 
repair  the  house  where  it  stood  would  make  a  diflBculty.  Committees 
come  and  go,  until  in  1768  some  one,  probably  the  contractor,  fails, 
the  monthly  meeting  gives  him  the  lumber,  and  that  ends  the  project. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS.  181 

Nineteen  years  after,  however,  the  meeting  house  was  repaired.  A 
writer  is  quoted  by  Freeman,  who  says  of  this  building,  that  there  was 
in  1795  in  Dennis  "  a  small  Friends',  or  Quaker,  meeting  house,  situ- 
ated on  the  east  side  of  Follen's  pond ;  at  this  five  families  belonging 
to  the  town  attended,  with  others  from  Yarmouth  and  Harwich." 

In  1807  liberty  was  given  to  move  the  Dennis  meeting  house  over 
to  the  west  side  of  the  river,  near  Seth  Kelley's,  in  South  Yarmouth. 
In  1808,  6th  mo.,  David  Kelley  gave  half  an  acre  for  a  lot  of  ground 
for  the  neiv  meeting  house,  which  it  had  been  decided  to  build.  In 
12th  mo.  it  had  cost  $864.  Yarmouth  paid  one  half.  Sandwich  and 
Falmouth  gave  $161,  and  the  quarterly  meeting  $271.  Accordingly 
Friends'  meetings  began  in  the  new  house  early  in  1809;  and  next 
year  the  old  Dennis  meeting  house  "  was  sold  to  Lot  Sears,  torn  down, 
put  on  a  raft,  floated  down  the  river  to  a  place  about  a  mile  below 
where  the  Friend's  village  then  was,  and  was  built  up  into  a  dwelling- 
house  "  which  may  yet  be  standing.  The  money  received  from  the 
sale  of  the  old  house  was  laid  out  in  painting  and  shutters  for  the  new 
house.  The  old  Friends'  burial  lot  at  Dennis  is  now  surrounded  by 
■woods  and  overgrown  with  shrubbery.  There  was  formerly  a  post- 
and-rail  fence  surrounding  it,  which  having  gone  to  decay,  Ezra  Kel- 
ley has  had  a  neat  board  fence  put  up,  and  the  graves  of  four  of  his 
ancestors  marked  by  simple  white  stones. 

In  2d  mo.,  1810,  Yarmouth  Friends  request  a  mid-week  meeting; 
and  the  next  year  they  ask  to  hold  a  preparative  meeting,  and  to  have 
two  sittings  of  the  monthly  meeting  each  year  in  their  house.  They 
continue  thus  to  be  held. 

In  1815  Yarmouth  Friends,  by  consent  of  the  monthly  meeting, 
commenced  holding  two  meetings  for  worship  on  First-day  of  the 
week.  At  length  the  two  meetings  a  day  were  confined  to  the  sum- 
mer season.  But  for  the  past  fifteen  years,  nearly,  there  has  been  but 
one  Friends' meeting  on  the  First-day  of  the  week,  besides  the  regular 
mid-week  meeting  on  Fifth-day. 

Prior  to  1819  we  are  at  a  loss  to  know  who  of  the  members  of  the 
Yarmouth  meeting  were  ministers;  except  one  Joshua  Weekson,  who 
in  1731  is  mentioned  as  a  "  public  Friend."  "  Our  meetings  in  the  old 
house,"  says  Ezra  Kelley, "  and  for  some  years  in  the  new,  were  usually 
silent,  except  when  visited  by  ministering  Friends  from  away.  We 
did  occasionally  hear  a  few  words  from  Abby  Crowell  (formerly  Kel- 
ley) but  had  no  approved  ministry  before  Russell  Davis."  About  1819 
Russell  Davis  moved  from  New  Bedford  to  South  Yarmouth,  having 
a  remarkable  gift  in  the  ministry  of  discerning  and  addressing  the 
states  of  individuals  and  meetings.  With  but  little  human  learning, 
and  regarded  as  inferior  in  manner  and  appearance,  he  was  often  ena- 
bled, both  in  public  and  in  private,  to  reveal  to  individuals  their 


182  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

thoughts  and  spiritual  conditions,  to  their  own  astonishment.  He 
became  known  as  a  true  seer ;  and  such  was  the  general  confidence  in 
his  declarations  as  being  from  the  true  source  of  authorized  ministry, 
that  the  attendance  of  the  South  Yarmouth  meeting  grew  in  his  day 
to  its  greatest  number.  He  died  in  1847,  aged  seventy-five  years. 
The  subsequent  acknowledged  ministers  have  been  :  Jacob  H.  Vining, 
whose  residence  here  was  contemporary  with  the  oil-carpet  manufac- 
tory which  he  conducted ;  Ruth  H.  Baker,  acknowledged  in  1843 ;  and 
Elizabeth  Stetson,  1889. 

The  religious  concern  represented  by  the  meeting  house  near 
Georgetown,  a  short  distance  northward  from  the  Friends'  meeting 
house,  is  attributed  to  Friends,  though  having  no  official  connection 
with  the  Society.  In  1868  her  Christian  interest  in  the  welfare  of  fami- 
lies of  fishermen  and  others  led  Rose  Kelley,  the  beloved  daughter 
(now  deceased)  of  David  Kelley,  with  Rebeeca  Wood  (now  Howes)  to 
read  the  Bible  to  them  in  their  homes,  and  at  times  to  gather  as  many 
children  as  would  assemble  for  instruction  in  the  contents  of  the 
Scriptures.  The  attendance  soon  outgrew  the  capacity  of  any  of  the 
Georgetown  houses,  and  encouraged  David  Kelley,  in  1873,  to  build 
a  plain,  commodious  building  for  the  good  of  all  who  would  assemble 
there  rather  than  in  one  of  the  denominational  houses  for  worship. 
One  and  another  non-clerical  laborer  has  been  raised  up  to  work  in 
this  mission,  and  a  decided  change  for  good  has  been  wrought  in 
many  lives,  and  in  the  neighborhood.  At  the  close  of  Friends'  meet- 
ings, visiting  ministers  often  repair  to  this  house,  as  if  in  continuation 
of  their  service.  The  beloved  elder  still  lives  to  acknowledge,  in  view 
of  remarkable  results  which  have  followed,  the  reward  of  peace  with 
which  the  erection  of  his  building  has  been  blessed. 

There  would  be  no  easy  stopping  place  were  we  to  begin  giving 
credit  to  the  estimable  lives  of  men  and  women  among  the  South  Yar- 
mouth worthies.  The  memory  of  these  just,  though  blessed  in  the 
scale  of  virtue,  has  only  its  invisible  record.  As  to  public  note,  the 
riame  which  stands  in  the  writer's  memory  as  most  conspicuous  in  the 
affairs  of  Yarmouth  Friends  forty  years  ago  is  that  of  Zeno  Kelley. 
His  most  widely  known  successor  in  public  prominence  and  esteem 
was  the  late  David  K.  Akin,  a  sketch  of  whose  life  has  been  furnished 
by  other  hands  as  follows : 

David  K.  Akin. — This  valued  citizen  was  bom  1st  mo.  5,  1799,  and 
departed  this  life  8th  mo.,  23,  1887,  at  his  homestead  in  South  Yar- 
mouth. Of  his  ancestry  it  is  only  known  that  a  widowed  lady  named 
Akins  came  from  Scotland  to  Dartmouth  early  in  the  last  century,  and 
from  her  two  sons  the  name  descended.  Other  branches  of  the  name 
exist  at  Dartmouth  and  New  Bedford,  but  Abiel,  son  of  Thomas,  was 
the  first  known  in  Yarmouth.   Abiel  Akin  was  born  at  Dartmouth  and 


M '-^'i- y^f^-  ^^t^'^  ^- 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS.  183 

came  to  South  Yarmouth,  where  he  married  Catherine  Kelley,  6th 
mo.,  12,  1794.  She  was  the  sister  of  Zeno  and  Seth  Kelley,  the  latter 
being  the  father  of  the  present  David  Kelley.  The  children  of  the 
marriage  were:  Rebecca,  Thomas,  David  K.,  Joseph,  Seth  K.,  Phoebe, 
and  Catherine.  The  mother  died,  and  Abiel  for  his  second  wife  mar- 
ried Mary  Wing  of  Sandwich. 

David  K.  Akin,  the  third  child,  was  married  6th  mo.  23,  1824,  to 
Rachel  W.  Peckham  of  Westport,  Mass.,  who  died  6th  mo.,  17,  1848, 
leaving  her  surviving,  a  husband  and  two  children, — Hannah  P.,  who 
married  David  Kelley  and  died  2d  mo.,  21,  1872,  without  issue;  and 
Peleg  P.  Akin.  This  son  is  the  only  surviving  male  representative  of 
this  branch  of  the  Akin  family,  also  of  his  mother's  family.  He  was 
born  6th  mo.,  30, 1832,  and  married  Mary  A.  Leonard,  who  died  with- 
out issue.  He  married  1st  mo.,  7,  1866,  Rebecca  B.  Howes,  and  their 
only  child,  Mary  L.  Akin,  resides  with  them. 

David  K.  Akin  learned  clock-making  and  commenced  for  himself 
in  this  trade  at  South  Yarmouth  in  his  early  married  life.  When  the 
manufacture  of  salt  became  a  leading  industry  he  erected  works 
which,  although  in  decay,  are  now  owned  by  his  only  son.  He  was 
an  early  merchant  of  South  Yarmouth  and  with  his  brother,  Thomas, 
conducted  a  store  many  years  under  the  firm  name  of  David  K.  Akin 
&  Co.  For  years  he  was  secretary  of  the  first  Marine  Insurance  Com- 
pany of  the  town,  and  a  director  of  the  Barnstable  County  Fire  Insur- 
ance Company,  in  which  he  succeeded  Amos  Otis  in  the  presidency. 
He  was  director  in  the  affairs  of  the  Yarmouth  National  Bank,  being 
elected  to  his  fiftieth  term  the  year  he  died,  and  was  its  president  from 
1871  to  1879.  He  was  also  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Bass  River  Savings  Bank,  of  which  he  was  a  trustee.  Other 
responsible  positions  he  satisfactorily  filled  in  his  active  life;  but 
those  civil  relations  which  would  absorb  too  much  of  his  time,  he  de- 
clined. His  generous  nature  induced  him  to  serve  a  term  as  overseer 
of  the  poor,  and  he  once  served  as  a  county  commissioner  with  his  re- 
publican contemporaries,  Seth  Crowell  and  John  Doane. 

He  adhered  to  the  faith  of  the  Friends,  and  was  a  leading  member 
and  an  elder,  aiding  greatly  in  its  material  and  spiritual  mainten- 
ance. He  was  a  valued  counsellor  of  the  Representative  Meeting  of 
the  Friends  of  New  England,  and  for  twelve  years  (1849-61)  served  as 
the  clerk  of  the  Sandwich  monthly  meeting.  For  his  second  wife  he 
married,  10th  mo.,  5, 1849,  Betsey  Crowell,  who  died  1st  mo.,  18, 1881. 
To  his  social  relations  he  was  strongly  attached.  To  his  purity  of  life 
in  all  its  phases  his  associates  attest.  He  was  liberal  in  his  views, 
sympathetic  and  kind,  and  among  the  first  in  every  good  enterprise. 
He  possessed  physical  strength,  energy  of  character,  and  great  moral 
courage;  all  of  which,  united  with  his  generous  nature  and  conscien- 


184  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

tious  consideration  for  the  rights  of  others,  rounds  into  a  column  purer 
and  more  lasting  than  marble. 

The  Society  in  Falmouth. — In  our  general  survey,  we  have 
seen  that  Sandwich  was  the  first  town  in  America  where  a  society  of 
that  people  was  established,  and  that  this  took  place  in  1657,  only  ten 
years  after  the  rise  of  the  Society  in  England. 

Turning  our  eyes  now  three  years  later  southward  to  the  Succo- 
nesset  shore,  we  are  struck  with  the  view  that  Quakerism  appears  an 
occasion  of  the  first  settlement  of  Falmouth*;  and  that,  too,  in  the  per- 
son of  no  less  a  character  than  Isaac  Robinson  himself,  the  son  of  that 
distinguished  pastor  of  the  Pilgrim  fathers,  John  Robinson,  whom  on 
embarking  in  the  Mayflower  they  left  in  charge  of  the  church  at  Ley- 
den.  The  Pastor  Robinson  having  died  in  1626,  Isaac,  his  son,  came 
over  in  1631.  In  1639  he  removed  from  Scituate  to  Barnstable.  For 
twenty  years  he  was  a  highly  respected  citizen  there,  being  deemed 
"  an  excellent  and  sensible  man  ";  and  was  some  time  in  the  service 
of  the  government.  In  the  year  1659,  as  we  are  informed  in  Cogs- 
well's historical  sketch  in  the  Barnstable  County  Atlas,  "  the  General 
Court  of  Plymouth  by  special  order  permitted  Robinson  and  three 
others  to  frequent  the  Quaker  meetings  'to  endeavor  to  seduce  them 
from  the  error  of  their  ways.'  But  the  reverse  effect  followed.  Rob- 
inson became  a  sympathizer  with  the  Quakers,  and  June  6,  1660,  a 
year  less  one  day,  he  was  pronounced  a  manifest  opposer  of  the  laws." 
In  the  statement  of  another  we  read:  "  Instead  of  convincing  the 
Quakers  he  became  self-convicted,  embraced  many  of  their  doctrines, 
and  consequently  rendered  himself  so  obnoxious  that  he  was  dis- 
missed from  civil  employment  and  exposed  to  much  censure  and  some 
indignity." 

This  was  enough  to  make  Isaac  Robinson,  now  ostracised  as  a 
Quaker,  feel  no  longer  at  home  in  Barnstable,  and  incline  to  .seek  a 
new  residence.  Thirteen  other  men  with  their  families,  and  proba- 
bly having  religious  toleration  as  their  bond  of  sympathy,  accompany 
him  in  boats  on  Vineyard  sound,  and  sail  westward,  till  they  find  at 
Succonesset  satisfactory  land  and  a  fresh  pond,-  which  determine  them 
to  settle  there.      The  first  house  built  in  the  town  was  Isaac  Robin- 

•The  opinion  of  Charles  W.  Jenkins,  in  his  lectures  on  the  history  of  Falmouth,  is 
confirmatory  of  this  view.  He  says:  "  One  of  the  first  and  leading  settlers  was  Isaac 
Robinson;  and  what  were  the  lessons  he  had  learned  from  his  Puritan  father?  They 
were  the  following:  '  Follow  no  man  any  farther  than  he  follows  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.' 
'I  am  confident  God  has  yet  much  truth  to  break  forth  from  His  holy  word;  and  fol- 
low the  truth  whenever  and  by  whomsoever  taught.'  These  lessons  of  the  pious, 
catholic,  and  learned  Robinson  were  not  lost  on  the  son;  and  when  persecution  in  the 
New  World  lifted  its  arm,  he  was  the  first  who  dared  openly  to  avert  the  blow.  For 
this  he  sacrificad  the  favors  of  the  government,  and  it  was  this  that  led  him  and  his  as- 
sociates, who  probably  sympathized  w^ith  him,  to  commence  a  new  settlement  at  this 
place." 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  185 

son's.  He  lived  in  continued  good  esteem  to  the  venerable  age  of 
ninety-three;  but  appears,  after  keeping  "  an  ordinary  at  Saconesset 
for  the  entertainment  of  strangers  "  to  have  moved  before  the  year 
1673  to  Martha's  Vineyard  (where  it  had  been  his  intention  to  sail 
when  he  left  Barnstable),  and  to  be  residing  there  in  1701.  He  was 
proprietors'  clerk  at  Tisbury  in  1673,  and  1678-84  was  selectman. 

It  is  not  known  how  soon  actual  members  of  the  Society  followed 
their  forerunner,  Isaac  Robinson,  into  Succonesset,  or  Falmouth.  But 
the  prominence  and  undenied  influence  possessed  in  his  new  colony 
by  their  former  champion,  doubtless  early  turned  the  eyes  of  some 
Friends  to  Succonesset  as  a  safe  abiding  place  for  themselves  also.  In 
his  lectures  on  early  Falmouth  history,  Charles  W.  Jenkins  thinks  it 
probable  that  the  "  first  founders  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  this 
town  arrived  about  six  years  after  the  first  settlers,  and  that  William 
Gifford  and  Robert  Harper  were  of  this  number,  and  that  their  meet- 
ing at  West  Falmouth  was  established  about  1685.  Probably  Isaac 
Robinson,  jr.,  a  son  of  the  first  settler,  joined  this  meeting, — he  set- 
tled at  West  Falmouth, — and  Isaac  Robinson  is  one  of  the  first  names 
to  be  found  on  the  records  of  that  Society." 

This  Robert  Harper,  who  afterward,  in  1685,  took  up  lands  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  township,  had  been  a  prominent  sufferer  in  Sand- 
wich from  the  first  rise  of  the  Society  there.  In  1659  he  was  sentenced 
in  Boston  to  fifteen  stripes,  also  suffered  imprisonment  there;  and  his 
fines  in  Sandwich  (for  not  swearing,  etc.)  are  recorded*  as  amounting 
to  £4:4;  namely,  "  all  the  cattle  he  had,  his  house  and  land  ";  leaving 
him  and  his  family  "  one  cow,  which  was  so  poor  that  she  was  ready 
to  dye."  Robert  Harper  was  one  of  the  four  Friends,  who,  when  Wil- 
liam Leddra,  the  last  of  the  four  Friends  thus  executed,  was  hanged 
on  Boston  common,  and  his  body  was  cut  down,  as  says  the  chroni- 
cler,t  "  attended  the  fall  of  it;  and  heaving  catch'd  it  in  their  Arms 
laid  it  on  the  Ground,  until  your  Murtherer  had  stripped  it  of  the 
cloaths;  who,  when  he  had  so  done,  confesst  he  was  a  comely  Man." 

Freeman  says  that  in  1668  William  Gifford,  Thomas  Lewis  and 
John  Jenkins  became  inhabitants  of  Succonesset.  William  Gifford's 
fines  in  Sandwich,  in  1658  and  '59,  had  been  fifteen  head  of  Cattle, 
"  half  a  Horse  "  and  "  half  a  Swine  " — all  amounting  to  ;^57,19s.  "  For 
no  other  cause,"  as  says  George  Bishop,  "  but  for  Meeting  with  the 
People  of  the  Lord;  and  for  that  in  Conscience  to  the  Command  of 
Christ,  he  could  not  Swear." 

In  the  oldest  existing  book  of  minutes  of  Friends' monthly  meeting 
held  at  Sandwich,  the  earliest  entry  being  for  25th  of  4th  mo,  1672,  we 
find  Robert  Harper  (then  of  Succonesset)  among  the  first  to  be  em- 

*New  Eng.  Judged,  p.  185. 
fid.,  p.  831. 


186  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

ployed  on  committees  for  services  requiring  tact  and  good  judgment. 
Two  months  later,  William  Gifford  is  one  of  two  named  to  speak  to 
Thomas  Johnson,  also  of  Succonesset,  "  to  know  how  it  is  with  him  in 
respect  of  his  outward  condition."  And  the  care  of  the  meeting  month 
after  month  for  the  guardianship  and  relief  of  Thom.  s  Johnson's  fam- 
ily, makes  interesting  reading.  Before  leaving  Sandwich  to  take  up 
land  in  Succonesset  he  had  had  his  house  and  land  seized  by  the 
marshal  for  fines. 

The  following  has  been  preserved  as  the  record  of  a  monthly  meet- 
ing held  at  Falmouth  the  2d  day  of  11th  mo.,  1673:  "  Friends  having 
met  together  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  found  all  things  well  and  in  or- 
der, and  so  departed  in  love,  giving  God  the  glory,  who  is  blessed  for- 
ever." 

In  1678  lands  were  laid  out  at  Oyster  pond;  also  at  Hog  island  and 
Great  Sipperwisset  "  where  the  early  settlers  were  William  Gifford, 
Senior;  William  Gifford,  Jr.;  John  Weeks,  and  William  Weeks."  This 
is  the  first  recorded  beginning  of  the  settlement  at  West  Falmouth, 
and  Quaker  names  head  the  list, — William  Gifford,  sr.,  having  become 
an  inhabitant  of  Succonesset  ten  years  before.  He  was  evidently  a 
prominent  character,  and  employed  in  useful  services  in  town  as  well 
as  in  Society  affairs. 

In  1681,  2d  month,  the  monthly  meeting  at  Sandwich  ordered  that 
a  meeting  (probably  a  session  of  the  monthly  meeting)  be  held  "  at 
Joseph  Hull's  at  Suckonessett,  the  last  6th  day  in  3d  mo.  next."  Like 
Robert  Harper,  Joseph  Hull  afterward  took  up  lands  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  township.  This  Joseph  Hull  is  traced,  in  notes  left  by 
Newell  Hoxie,  as  a  son  of  Joseph  Hull  who  came  from  Weymouth  to 
Barnstat)le  in  1639,  and  in  1641  went  to  Yarmouth  to  preach  without 
approbation  of  his  brethren,  and  was  excommunicated.  Afterward 
he  made  satisfaction  and  was  restored.  "His  son  Joseph  moved  to 
Falmouth  and  bought  of  Zach.  Perkins  the  estate  which  Zach.  bought 
of  William  Weeks,  sen.,  for  /"lOS  in  1678.  His  uncle,  Tristum  Hull, 
who  moved  to  Newport,  was  father  to  John,  captain  of  the  first  packet 
to  England,  and  from  him  came  Commodore  Hull."  Tristum  Hull 
was  blamed  by  the  Plymouth  authorities  for  bringing  the  persecuted 
Nicholas  Upshal  to  Sandwich,  and  was  ordered  to  "  carry  him  out  of 
the  government."  It  appears  that  Newport  became  the  home  of 
both. 

In  1682  a  meeting, — probably  another  transferred  sitting  of  the 
monthly  meeting, — was  ordered  to  be  held  at  William  Gifford's  at  Sip- 
perwisset (West  Falmouth)  the  20th  of  the  month  and  6th  day  of  the 
week.  In  1683  Robert  Harper  informed  that  Friends  at  Succonesset 
desired  that  Friends  might  have  meetings  among  them.  And  in  the 
8th  month .  a  meeting  was  appointed  to  be  held  at  Succonesset  the 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  187' 

16th  of  this  month,  3d  day  of  the  week.  Of  siach  occasional  monthly 
meetings  held  at  Falmouth,  and  sometimes  at  Yarmouth,  there  is  no 
record  of  the  business. 

In  1685,  by  a  minute  of  the  monthly  meeting,  "  Friends  of  Sucko- 
nessett  were  encouraged  to  meet  together."      This  may  be  regarded 
as  the  date  of  the  official  establishment  of  the  Friends'  meeting  in  West. 
Falmouth;  though  no  doubt,  according  to  their  principles,  they  had 
been  regularly  holding  meetings  for  worship  from  the  time  when  but. 
"  two  or  three  "  began  to  reside  here.     Before  moving  from  Sandwich 
to  Falmouth,  Cudworth  says  of  them:  "They  meet  ordinarily  twice  in 
a  week  besides  the  Lord's  day."     Since  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth; 
cannot,  in  the  Friends'  view,  be  treated  as  if  dependent  on  the  serv- 
ices of  a  minister,  or  hearing  of  words,  their  meetings  for  that  pur- 
pose must  have  been  the  earliest  regularly  held   in  the   township.. 
Though  the  town  voted  land  in  1687  for  the  support  of  any  who  might 
be  found  fit  to  "  teach  the  good  word  of  God  "  in  Falmouth,  it  was  not 
until  1701  that  Samuel  Shiverick  was  settled  upon  as  the  town  min- 
ister. 

The  relations  between  these  first  two  churches  which  grew  up  side 
by  side  in  Falmouth — the  Congregationalist  and  the  Friends' — seem  to 
have  been  amicable  or  mutually  tolerant,  from  the  first.  The  leading- 
pioneer  or  first  settler  of  the  town,  Isaac  Robinson,  seems  to  have  been 
a  representative  of  both  societies  in  his  own  person.*  The  thirteen- 
families  who  joined  him  in  the  Falmouth  colony  were  no  doubt  irr 
sympathy  with  his  spirit.  Though  all  were  Congregationalists,  so  as^ 
early  to  identify  that  church  with  the  town  government,  they  started 
the  town  on  its  general  course  of  giving  fair  play  to  the  Quaker  refu- 
■gees  from  the  rigors  of  the  Plymouth  rule.  There  are  traditions  that 
Friends  were  made  to  suffer  even  here  by  orders  from  Plymouth, — 
for  instance  that  Daniel  Butler  "  was  tied  to  a  cart  and  whipped 
through  the  town."  But  leaving  tradition  for  history,  the  records  of 
the  town  contain  an  application  from  the  "  persecuted  Quaker  Daniel 
Butler  "  to  the  town,  to  be  released  from  liabilities  to  the  minister  on 
account  of  his  being  a  Friend.  The  request  was  granted,  thus  show- 
ing, as  Jenkins  observes,  "  that  if  Butler  was  persecuted  it  was  not. 
the  result  of  town  action."  "  There  are  many  instances  recorded," 
says  the  same  author,  "  where  individuals  made  it  to  appear  that  they 
had  conscientious  scruples  on  this  subject  [of  paid  ministry]  and  their 
tax  was  promptly  remitted.     .     .     .     It  is  to  be  hoped  that  our  worthy 

*  "  Our  habit  of  toleration  began  with  Isaac  Robinson  in  1660,  who  with  his  father^ 
the  Leyden  minister  was  taught  '  to  follow  truth  whenever  and  by  whomsoever  taught.' 
Intercourse  with  the  Quakers  had  undoubtedly  much  to  do  with  the  liberal  and  tolerant 
ways  of  the  community.  This  liberality  and  humane  disposition  is  seen  in  the  just 
treatment  of  Indians,  with  whom  Falmouth  was  always  on  the  kindest  terms." — John. 
L.  Swift  (Falmouth  Bi-ceutennial  Oration). 


188  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

neighbors  of  this  sect,  when  thinking  of  the  cruel  persecutions  of  the 
Quakers,  will  not  forget  these  acts  of  liberality  on  the  part  of  the  good 
people  of  this  town." 

In  1688  lands  in  Falmouth  were  laid  out  to  Thomas  Bowerman.  In 
1705  a  Thomas  Bowman  (whether  the  same  Friend  or  not,  it  is  not 
clear)  appears  on  the  monthly  meeting  record  as  being  in  prison  for 
priest's  rate,  and  Friends  send  him  a  bed  and  bedding.  As  Friends 
could  not  contribute  to  a  paid  ministry  in  the  form  of  taxes  or  other- 
wise, neither  could  they  vote  with  their  fellow-townsmen  for  the  sup- 
porting of  a  stated  minister.  In  1731,  the  following  voters,  being 
members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  dissented  from  a  call  to  Samuel 
Palmer  to  serve  as  the  town's  minister  with  a  stated  support :  Stephen 
Harper,  Benjamin  Swift,  Richard  Landers,  Samuel  Bowerman, Thomas 
Bowerman,  jr.,  Amos  Landers,  Justus  Giflford,  John  Landers,  Thomas 
Bowerman,  William  Gifford,  sr.,  William  Gifford,  Seth  Giflford,  and 
William  Giflford,  younger.  But  the  record  states  that  "in  November 
the  town  voted  ;^170  for  Mr.  Palmer's  settlement  and  salary — to  clear 
the  Quakers." 

In  1703  Falmouth  Friends  are  so  remiss  in  attending  the  monthly 
meeting  that  it  appoints  a  committee  to  look  after  them ; — likewise 
Yarmouth. 

In  1709  the  monthly  meeting  held  at  Sandwich  conferred  the  powers 
of  a  meeting  for  discipline,  or  preparative  meeting,  upon  that  held  in 
Falmouth  ;  and  the  ne^tt  year  a  monthly  meeting  for  Falmouth  was 
proposed.  Sometimes  when  no  business  appeared  in  the  Falmouth 
preparative  meeting  to  report  up  to  the  monthly  meeting,  it  is  stated 
that  "  Friends  sent  their  love." 

The  need  of  a  regular  meeting  house,  for  a  better  accommodation 
of  public  worship  than  private  houses  could  afford,  soon  began  to  find 
expression.  In  1717  Richard  Landers  was  appointed  by  the  monthly 
meeting  to  dig  graves  for  Friends  in  Falmouth  ;  and  at  the  next 
monthly  meeting  those  who  had  promised  to  pay  money  for  fencing 
the  burying  ground  were  requested  to  bring  it  to  him.  This  grave 
yard,  though  now  grown  up  with  trees,  may  still  be  found  in  the 
woods  eastward  of  the  houses  at  present  occupied  by  Judah  Bowman, 
or  Maria  F.  Hamblin.  Traces  of  the  stone  wall  which  in  1730  John  Lan- 
ders and  Stephen  Bowman  were  appointed  to  build  about  the  burial 
ground  are  still  to  be  discerned;  but  all  marks  of  the  graves  are 
obliterated,  except  such  rude  natural  stones  as  might  be  found  by 
<iigging.  Here  were  the  remains  of  West  Falmouth  Friends  gen- 
■eraly  buried,  until  the  second  grave-yard  surrounding  the  present 
meeting  house  facing  the  new  road  below,  was  laid  out. 

The  main  road  to  Falmouth  village  lay  between  the  first  burying 
ground  and  the  first  Friends'  meeting  house  ;  and  that  road  may  still 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS. 


189 


be  traced  in  places  in  the  woods  for  a  mile  or  two.  The  ground  over 
which  the  first  Friends'  meeting  house  stood  is  marked  at  its  central 
spot  by  a  stone  post,  chiseled  with  the  figures  "  1720,"  and  erected  by 
the  late  Daniel  Swift  and  others.  The  building,  which  was  begun  in 
the  year  1720,  was  thirty  feet  square  on  the  ground,  and  one  story 
high,  having  a  "  hopper  roof," — that  is,  coming  to  a  point  like  a  pyra- 
mid. On  meeting  days  in  cold  weather  an  attempt  was  made  to 
warm  the  room,  or  at  least  some  of  the  worshippers'  feet,  by  a  large 
pot  of  charcoal  standing  on  the  ground  or  floor  in  the  middle  of  the 
room.  For  the  escape  of  the  fumes,  an  opening  was  made  in  the 
roof.  Meetings  were  regularly  held  here  for  fifty  years.  Of  all  the 
Friends  traveling  in  the  ministry  who  preached  in  this  house,  Samuel 
Fothergill,  from  England,  seems  remembered  as  the  most  eminent. 

The  building  of  this  meeting  house  was  authorized  by  the  follow- 
ing minutes  of  Sandwich  monthly  meeting:  "At  our  monthly  meet- 
ing, at  our  meeting  house  in  Sandwich  the  2d  of  the  7th  month,  1720, 
were  the  several  weekly  meetings  belonging  to  the  same,  called  on  : 
For  Sandwich  John  Wing  and  Edward  Perry  present,  for  Falmouth 
Richard  Landers  and  Stephen  Harper  present,  for  Yarmouth  none 
appears.  At  this  meeting  it  is  agreed  and  concluded  that  there  be  a 
meeting  house  built  at  Falmouth,  and  Friends  subscribed  towards  the 
building  of  it  as  follows : 


£  Bh. 

Ebenezer  Wing 1      0 

Benjamin  Allen 10 

Edward  Perry 1      0 

Obediah  Butler 1     10 

Gershom  Gifford 1      0 

John  Strobridge 10 

Josbah  Wing 10 

Joseph  HoUway 10 


£  sh. 

Gidian  Hoxie 1  0 

Nicolas  Davis 10 

Richard  Landers 6  0 

Thomas  Bowerman . .  3  0 

Stephen  Harper 5  0 

Joseph  Landers 3  0 

Benjamin  Bowerman .  2  0 

Justes  Gifford 2  0 


£  Bh. 

Stephen  Bowerman. .' 2  0 

Isaac  Robinson* 3  0 

John  Robinson 1  0 

Peter  Robinson 1  0 

William  Gifford 2  0 

Benjamin  Swift 3  0 

John  Wing 2  0 

Daniel  Allen 1  0 


Total 44  pounds." 

The  first  ten  names  on  this  subscription  list  appear  to  be  those  of 
residents  in  Sandwich  ;  and  the  remaining  fourteen,  beginning  with 
Richard  Landers,  residents  of  Falmouth.  Accordingly  Falmouth 
Friends  subscribed  thirty-six  pounds  toward  the  building  of  their 
own  meeting  house,  and  Sandwich  Friends  eight  pounds.  Consider- 
ing the  much  larger  value  of  money  in  those  days  than  its  purchasing 
power  now,  and  the  hard  work  to  obtain  it  by  farming,  the  subscrip- 
tion was  a  generous  one.  Sandwich  monthly  meeting  had  a  few  years 
before  liberally  responded  to  a  call  to  help  build  meeting  houses  in 
Salem  and  in  Boston. 

It  does  not  appear  how  long  a  time  was  taken  in  bringing  the  build- 

*  If  this  Isaac  Robinson  was  the  son  of  the  original  settler,  he  was  then  at  least 
seventy-eight  years  of  age  ;  if  the  grandson,  he  was  fifty-one. 


190  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

"ing  to  completion.  We  read  that  at  the  monthly  meeting  held  at  Fal- 
month,  6th  mo.,  1722,  Ebenezer  Wing  was  appointed  to  gather  the 
money  contributed  by  Sandwich  Friends  toward  building  a  meeting 
Jiouse  in  Falmouth,  and  bring  whatever  he  received  to  the  next 
"monthly  meeting ;  and  at  the  next  monthly  meeting  held  at  Sand- 
wich in  7th  mo.,  he  turned  in  £9,  Is.,  6d.,  which  he  had  collected. 
And  the  first  meeting  recorded  as  held  in  Falmouth  meeting  house  was 
2d  day,  the  6th  month,  1725. 

Whether  Benjamin  Swift,  whose  name  appears  among  the  sub- 
scribers, was  then  a  member,  or  his  wife,  who  was  a  member,  was  sub- 
scribed for  in  his  name,  is  not  clear.    But  Daniel  Swift,  a  beloved  and 
■venerable  Friend  who  died  in  1879,  desired  the  writer  to  preserve  for 
future  memory,  along  with  some  of  the  information  above  given  ;  that 
Benjamin  Swift,  being  formerly  a  staunch  Congregationalist,  persisted 
in  regularly  attending  his  own  meeting  in    Falmouth  village,  even 
when  on  extraordinary  occasions  his  wife  was  anxious  to  have  him  go. 
to  meeting  with  her.     At  length  one  First-day  morning,  having  in- 
\formed  him  that  two  ministers  from  abroad  were  to  be  at  Friends* 
meeting,  she  went  her  usual  way.     But  while  sitting  in  the  meeting, 
-she  was  surprised  to  see  her  husband  hitching  his  horse  at  a  fence, 
-coming  up  toward  the  house,  and  taking  his  seat  among  the  rest.    He 
never  attended  the  meeting  at  town  afterward,  but  went  regularly  with 
his  wife,  and  in  due  time  joined  the  Friends.    Benjamin  Swift  served 
■^s  the  monthly  meeting's  clerk,  the  first  from  Falmouth,  in  the  years 
1745-47.    His  grave  was  the  first  in  the  new,  or  present  burial  ground, 
and  is  to  be  seen  beside  his  good  wife's  at  the  northwest  comer  of  the 
•original  portion. 

In  1731  a  stable,  sixteen  feet  square,  was  ordered  to  be  built,  to 
accommodate  the  horses  of  Friends  coming  to  meetings.  How  long 
that  building  stood  has  not  been  learned.  But  one  of  apparently 
larger  size  gave  place  to  the  present  commodious  sheds,  which  were 
•completed  in  1861.  Stephen  Dillingham  offered  to  give  the  meeting 
one  hundred  dollars  toward  the  proposed  sheds,  or  if  the  meeting 
would  raise  $175  by  subscriptions,  he  would  build  the  sheds.  The 
latter  offer  was  accepted.  And  Stephen  Dillingham,  in  rendering  to 
the  Preparative  meeting  a  report  of  his  care,  concluded  by  saying  in 
substance  :  "  I  have  done  the  best  I  could  for  the  meeting's  benefit. 
The  sheds  are  finished,  and  offered  to  Friends ;  and  I  hope  they  will 
be  of  use  to  many,  long  after  I  am  laid  away."  He  died  in  1872.  Many 
marks  and  memories  remain  in  West  Falmouth,  as  reminders  of  his 
enterprise,  public  spirit,  and  sagacity  in  business.  He  was  for  40 
years  postmaster.  None  but  Friends  (Gilbert  R.  Boyce,  and  now 
James  E.  Giflford)  have  succeeded  him  in  the  West  Falmouth  post- 
■oflBce. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS. 


191 


In  1742  the  monthly  meeting  complains  of  "a  cowardly  spirit 
about  training  ";  that  is,  some  members  not  having  courage  to  main- 
tain their  testimony  against  war,  by  refusing  to  train. 

In  1755  the  women  Friends  of  Falmouth  requested  a  preparative 
meeting.  The  holding  of  a  women's  meeting  for  religious  business 
separate  from  that  of  men  Friends,  and  co-ordinate  with  it,  has  contin- 
ued (developing  in  many  women  valuable  traits  of  judgment),  till 
within  two  or  three  years;  when  preparative  meetings  have  been 
driven  by  the  smallness  of  numbers  attending,  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  yearly  meeting's  permission  to  hold  joint  sessions. 

The  original  "hopper-roof"  meeting  house  on  the  hill-side  knoll, 
which  as  a  shelter  for  Friends  in  their  often  silent  worship  had  stood 
for  fifty  years,  was  now  in  the  year  1771  believed  to  have  had  its  day. 


friends'  meeting  house,  west  falmouth,  built  1842. 

A  new  edifice,  larger  and  more  convenient,  began  to  be  built,  facing 
the  new  public  road  below ;  and  by  the  year  1775  the  house  appears 
to  have  been  completed.  An  addition  to  it  was  made  in  the  year 
1794.  This  second  meeting  house  stood  for  nearly  seventy  years,  or 
until  1841,  when  it  was  decided  to  replace  it  by  a  new  edifice. 

The  present,  or  third  meeting  house,  under  a  contract  made  with 
Moses  Swift,  was  built  on  the  site  of  the  second.  The  builder  receiv- 
ing the  material  of  the  former  house  to  dispose  of  as  his  own,  Zeno 
Kelly  of  South  Yarmouth,  persuaded  that  Moses  Swift  had  an  unfa- 
vorable bargain  on  his  hands,  endeavored  to  relieve  him  by  buying 
the  frame  of  the  second  meeting  house ;  which  he  transported  on  a 


192  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

vessel  to  South  Yarmouth,  where  it  lay  under  temporary  cover  on  a 
wharf  by  Bass  river  for  about  a  year,  when  it  was  utilized  by  being 
erected  as  the  frame-work  of  David  Kelley's  present  barn.  There  the 
heavy  oak  beams  are  still  to  be  seen,  staunch  and  sound,  attesting  the 
solid  growth  of  the  West  Falmouth  oaks  of  1771.  In  1842  the  build- 
ing committee  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  $202, — contributed  for  the 
new  meeting  house,  and  in  the  Seventh  month  of  that  year  report  that 
it  is  finished.  Still  well  preserved,  it  bids  fair  to  be  longer-lived  than 
either  of  its  predecessors ;  but  whether  longer-lived  than  the  meeting 
itself,  will  depend  on  the  life  of  the  people  in  the  principles  for  which 
it  was  built. 

Sandwich  quarterly  meeting  began  to  hold  its  mid-summer  session 
at  Falmouth  in  1779,  where  it  continued  to  be  held  annually  till  1792, 
when  it  was  transferred  to  Nantucket  and  held  there  up  to  1850. 
Thence  it  was  returned  to  Falmouth,  where  it  is  still  held  every 
Seventh  month  by  representatives  and  visitors  from  the  Friends 
included  in  Barnstable,  Bristol  and  Plymouth  counties; — an  occurrence 
still  of  interest,  and  formerly  regarded  in  the  neighborhood  as  an  an- 
nual event  of  remarkable  account. 

Here  as  elsewhere  Friends  found  it  difficult,  while  their  children 
were  mingling  indiscriminately  with  others  in  the  public,  or  district 
school,  to  train  them  according  to  the  principles  and  testimonies  which 
Friends  had  received  to  hold.  At  length,  in  1831,  the  Friends  in  West 
Falmouth  built  by  subscription  a  school  house  on  the  east  side  of  the 
road  opposite  the  northern  portion  of  the  burial-ground.  The  first 
school  therein  was  held  in  the  winter  of  1831-2,  the  building  not  yet 
being  plastered.  Asa  Wing,  of  Sandwich,  is  said  to  have  been  em- 
ployed as  the  first  teacher^  and  his  name  is  held  in  honored  imemory 
by  pupils,  who  still  survive  him.  It  was  regarded  as  a  fine  school, 
and  it  gave  general  satisfaction  in  the  neighborhood.  The  prosperity 
of  the  schools  held  in  that  building  at  length  waned  with  the  decreas- 
ing interest  of  Friends  in  its  original  purpose;  and  especially  while 
for  several  years  the  teachers  employed  also  in  the  district  school  of 
the  neighborhood  were  usually  members  of  the.  society.  At  length 
the  Friends' school  house  was  removed  by  Edward  G.Dillingham*, 
and  made  the  body  of  the  Lindley  M.  Wing  house,  where  it  now 
stands. 

The  real  history  of  the  Friends'  meeting  in  Falmouth,  adequately 

portrayed,  would  be  biographical, — chiefly  in  the  bringing  to  light  of 

those  obscure  and  hidden  lives  that  appear  but  little  in  the  records, 

♦Edward  G.  Dillingham  removed  from  West  Falmouth  to  Acaahnet  in  1855.  His 
gift  in  the  ministry  being  acknowledged  by  the  society,  he  is  still  often  seen  and  wel- 
comed in  his  native  place  ministering  the  word — likewise  in  Sandwich  and  Yarmouth. 
As  his  frequent  companion,  the  late  Josiah  Holmes,  jr.,  of  New  Bedford,  has  long  had 
familiar  place  in  these  meetings,  and  at  funerals  of  members. 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS.  193 

and  less  in  the  chief  seats.  The  influence  of  some  of  these  in  their 
silent  spheres,  has  been  of  the  deepest  and  most  far-reaching.  As  re- 
gards the  prominent  and  well-remembered  names,  we  forbear  to  be- 
gin the  mention  of  them,  knowing  there  is  not  room  to  do  equal  jus- 
tice to  all. 

If,  however,  we  may  allude  to  the  use  made  of  members  in  public 
life, — James  T.  Dillingham  was  chosen  m  1857  to  serve  as  representa- 
tive in  the  Massachusetts  legislature,  being  the  first  of  the  three  mem- 
bers of  the  Friends'  Society  in  Falmouth  who  (since  Isaac  Robinson — 
probably  the  junior — and  a  Friend,  who  was  deputy  in  1691)  have  been 
elected  to  the  general  court.  He  served  a  few  months,  when  he 
moved  to  Wisconsin,  pursued  a  successful  business  career,  and  died  in 
1889.  James  E.  Gifford  served  in  the  legislature  in  the  years  1880  and 
1881.  By  his  efforts  an  act  was  passed  in  1880  having  the  effect  of 
giving  to  widows  of  intestate  husbands  leaving  no  children,  real  es- 
tate that  maybe  left,  up  to  $5,000  in  value; — an  act  highly  commended 
by  enlightened  judges  as  in  the  direction  of  needed  reform  toward 
justice  for  women.  Thus  the  Friends'  principle  of  co-ordinating 
rather  than  subordinating  woman  in  her  church  relations,  having 
shown  its  tendency  in  public  legislation,  was  learned  in  West  Fal- 
mouth to  some  purpose.  Meltiah  Gifford  (the  younger)  served  in  the 
legislature  as  representative  in  1884,  but  died  in  the  same  year,  much 
lamented  in  appreciation  of  his  extended  public  usefulness  in  the 
town  and  especially  in  the  services  of  the  Society.  He  and  James  E. 
Gifford  (the  latter,  for  several  years  past,  moderator  of  the  town  meet- 
ings) appear  thus  far  the  last  of  a  series  of  selectmen  in  Falmouth  who 
professed  with  Friends.  Until  recently  it  was  the  policy  of  managers 
in  the  town's  affairs  to  have  usually  one  Friend  among  the  selectmen. 
In  that  oflBce  we  recognize  also  the  names  of  Thomas  Bowerman, 
Richard  Landers,  Stephen  Bowerman,  Paul  Swift,  Prince  Gifford,  Wil- 
liam Gifford,  Daniel  Swift,  Barnabas  Bowerman  (who  served  twelve 
years),  and  Prince  G.  Moore  (who  served  fourteen  years),  long  respected 
not  only  as  a  veteran  in  the  town's  government,  but  as  an  example  of 
uprightness  and  good  judgment. 

The  list  of  preachers  recorded  as  ministers  in  the  Friends'  meeting 
in  Falmouth  could  not  be  traced  back  by  the  present  writer  farther 
than  the  year  1815, — though  doubtless  unrecorded  ministers,  or 
speakers  in  the  meeting,  have  exercised  their  gifts  from  an  early 
period.  The  names  found,  with  dates  of  acknowledgment  by  the 
meeting,  are  as  follows:  Browning  Swift,  1816;  Susan  Swift,  1818; 
Joshua  Swift,  1827;  William  Gifford,  1827;  John  R.  Davis,  1804  (he 
came  from  New  Bedford  monthly  meeting);  Huldah  Gifford,  1829; 
Newell  Hoxie  (originally  of  Sandwich)  1846;  Elizabeth  Gifford,  1849; 
13 


194  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Mary  Hoag,  1851;  Elizabeth  G.  Dillingham,  1851;  Lois  B.  Gifford,  1867; 
Charity  G.  Dillingham  (now  Chace),  1867;  Daniel  Swift,  1870. 

The  clerks  of  Sandwich  monthly  meeting  who  were  residents  of 
Falmouth,  are  named  as  follows:  Benjamin  Swift,  serving  in  the  years 
1745-47;  Daniel  Bowman,  1796-98  and  1810-11;  Prince  Gifford,  1798- 
1801;  William  Gifford,  1811-14  and  1817-23;  Prince  Gifford,  jr.,  1814^ 
17;  Daniel  Swift,  1823-31:  Stephen  Dillingham,  1881-35;  Newell 
Hoxie,  1835-49;  Arnold  Gifford,  1861-72;  Meltiah  Gifford,  1872-84; 
James  E.  Gifford,  1884  to  the  present  time. 

The  only  clerks  of  the  women's  monthly  meeting,  from  Falmouth, 
since  1849,  have  been:  Hepza  Swift,  1849-'50  and  1852-1854;  and 
Huldah  Gifford,  1869-1876. 

In  the  autumn  of  1888,  while  on  a  visit  from  Worcester  to  his  na- 
tive place,  Daniel  Wheeler  Swift,  one  of  the  sons  of  the  late  Daniel 
Swift  of  beloved  memory,  took  very  practical  interest  in  improving 
the  condition  of  the  burial  ground  about  the  meeting  house.  By  a 
subscription  of  three  hundred  dollars  he  set  about  starting  a  fund  of 
one  thousand  dollars,  the  annual  income  of  which  is  to  be  applied  to 
keeping  the  grave  yard  in  a  neat  condition.  Considerably  more  than 
the  one  thousand  dollars  asked  for  was  contributed  by  residents  of  the 
neighborhood — some  of  them  not  members  of  the  meeting — and  by 
several  residing  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  who  have  remem- 
bered with  affection  the  scenes  of  their  youth  and  the  graves  of  their 
departed.  The  excess  contributed  has  been  applied  to  the  leveling 
and  renovating  of  the  entire  surface  of  the  ground,  removing  most 
of  the  rough  boulders  used  as  head-stones,  and  distingfuishing  the 
graves  by  neater  marks.  The  present  year  will  probably  complete 
this  part  of  the  work. 

John  H.  Dillingham. — The  publishers  feel  justified  in  giving 
place  in  this  history  of  the  West  Falmouth  Society,  to  some  account 
of  one  of  its  sons,  whose  annual  sojourn  and  interest  in  his  native 
homestead  and  meeting  still  identifies  him  with  the  neighbor- 
hood. 

John  Hoag  Dillingham,  the  son  of  Abram  Dillingham*  of  West 
Falmouth  and  Lydia  Beede  Dillingham  (daughter  of  John  Hoag  of 

•Descent  in  the  DiUingham  name,  which  comes  from  Old  Englrsh  ■words  dealing 
and  ham  (for  hamlet  or  village)  and  was  applied  to  a  market-town  in  Cambridge  county, 
Eag.,  is  thus  traced:  Edward  DUliagham,  an  original  settler  of  Sandwich,  had  children 
Henry,  John  (who  moved  to  Yarmouth,  or  Harwich),  and  Oseah  (who  married  Stephen 
Wing,  son  of  John  who  moved  to  Yarmouth).  Henry  had  a  son  Edward,  one  of  whose 
eight  children  Edward,  jr.,  had  six.  One  of  these,  Ignatius,  who  married  Deborah  Gif- 
ford, had  eight  children,  the  youngest  of  whom,  Joseph,  married  Esther  Rogers  of 
Marsfield,  whose  children  were  Stephen,  Reuben,  Deborah,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Abram, 
and  Edward  G.  Abram,  the  father  of  John,  died  7th  mo.,  7,  1879.  It  is  believed  all 
the  above  were  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  apparently  Ignatius"  father  Ed- 
ward moved  from  Sandwich  to  Falmouth. 


e.     BlERSTADT.     H.    Y. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS.  195 

Centre  Sandwich,  N.  H.)  was  born  6th  mo.,  1st,  1839.  Of  his  three 
brothers,  all  younger,  two  died  :n  childhood,  and  Moses  B.  next 
younger,  died  at  home,  aged  22,  while  a  student  of  Exeter  Academy, 
where  he  had  nearly  fitted  for  college.  Life  on  a  small  farm,  varied 
by  three  months'  attendance  of  the  district  school  in  winter  and  three 
in  summer,  brought  John  to  the  age  of  12,  when  he  commenced  daily 
walks  to  Lawrence  Academ}'  in  the  village,  four  miles  from  home, 
continuing  at  this  school  in  the  spring  and  fall  terms  till  the  age  of 
19,  when  by  the  encouragement  and  training  of  his  teacher,  the  Prin- 
cipal, George  E.  Clarke,  he  entered  Harvard  College  in  Cambridge, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1862.  He  had  taught  school  one  winter, 
when  at  the  age  of  16,  at  Shumet  Pond,  and  the  next  two  winters  inWest 
Falmouth,  and  the  next  at  South  Pocasset, — -the  two  latter  winters 
having  leave  of  absence  from  college  for  the  purpose.  In  the  autumn 
after  graduating  he  accepted  an  offer  to  teach  in  the  boarding-school 
for  boys  conducted  by  Charles  A.  Miles  at  Brattleboro,  Vt.,  and  con- 
tinued there  2^  years.  In  the  summer  of  1865  he  accepted  the  posi- 
tion of  tutor  in  Latin  and  Greek,  also  of  Librarian,  in  Haverford  Col- 
lege, Pennsylvania.  The  superintendent  retiring  near  the  middle  of 
the  year,  the  new  tutor  was  induced  to  accept  the  care  of  the  students 
in  the  household — all  boarding  in  the  college.  This  charge  continued 
for  ten  years.  His  department  of  instruction  was  early  changed  to  a 
professorship  in  "  Moral  and  Political  Science."  In  1871  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Mary  Pim,  of  Cain,  in  Chester  county  valley.  In  1875  he  left 
the  college-building  with  his  family  for  another  house  on  the  premi- 
ses, continuing  only  in  duties  of  instruction,  until,  in  1878  he  accepted 
the  place  of  Principal  in  the  Friends'  School  for  Boys  in  Philadelphia, 
a  name  under  which  he  still  serves  as  senior  teacher  in  the  same  in- 
stitution. In  1886,  the  school  having  been  removed  to  its  new  build- 
ing at  140  N.  16th  street,  and  al.so  the  Friends'  library  to  a  new  build- 
ing on  the  same  ground,  the  service  of  Librarian  and  Custodian  of 
Friends'  records  was  added  to  his  school  duties.  His  interest  in  the 
truths  of  the  gospel  as  committed  to  the  Society  of  Friends  is  in  part 
represented  by  service  as  overseer  since  1874,  as  clerk  of  the  monthly 
meeting  1882-86,  as  elder  from  1883  till  11th  mo.,  1889,  when  he  was 
acknowledged  as  a  minister.  His  children  are  four  daughters,  Anne 
Pim,  Lydia  Beede,  Mary  Edge,  and  Edith  Comfort  Dillingham.  His 
interest  in  his  native  town,  the  place  of  his  family's  residence  in  the 
summer  with  his  surviving  mother,  continues  not  only  unabated  but 
heightened. 


CHAPTER  XL 


BENCH   AND   BAR. 


By  E.  S.  Whtttemore,  Esq. 


The  Judiciary  of  the  County. — First  Courts. — Formation  of  the  Province  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay. — Revision  of  the  Judiciary. — Courts  of  the  Revolutionary  Period. — Early 
Magistrates. — Judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas. — Court  of  County  Commis- 
sioners.— Probate  Courts. — Trial  Justices. — The  Bar  of  Barnstable  County. — Law- 
yers, Past  and  Present. — Law  Library  Association. — District  Courts. 


THE  history  of  the  Old  Colony,  as  to  its  judiciary  systems,  is 
divided  into  four  periods:  that  immediately  after  the  coming  of 
the  Pilgrims  and  Puritans  at  Plymouth,  to  1692,  when  the  colo- 
nies were  united;  from  this  time  to  the  revolutionary  period;  during 
this  time  to  its  termination,  October  19,  1781;  and  from  the  surrender 
of  Cornwallis  to  the  present  time,  which  is  mostly  within  the  memory 
of  men  now  living. 

As  early  as  1639,  the  general  court  of  the  Plymouth  colony  at- 
tempted to  form  a  judicial  system,  but  much  of  it  was  vague  and 
indefinite  in  its  jurisdiction;  the  people  were  obliged  to  use  such  ma- 
terials as  they  had.  The  earliest  attempt  of  the  court  to  form  an  infant 
judiciary,  was  to  nominate  and  appoint  three  men  from  as  many  towns 
in  the  county,  to  hear  and  determine  suits  and  controversies  between 
parties  within  the  townships,  whose  jurisdiction  was  not  to  exceed 
three  pounds.  The  general  court  enacted,  in  the  year  1666,  that  there 
should  be  three  courts  in  each  year  in  the  county,  for  the  trial  of  causes 
by  jury,  and  it  was  further  enacted  that  no  courts  of  assistants,  except 
the  governor,  on  special  occasion  see  fit  to  summon  such  court,  and  at 
such  court  the  governor  and  three  of  the  magistrates  at  least,  must 
be  present  at  trials.  It  was  also  enacted  where  the  amount  in  contro- 
versy was  less  than  forty  shillings,  it  should  be  tried  by  a  court  of 
selectmen,  from  the  decision  of  which  court  an  appeal  might  be  taken 
to  the  next  court  of  his  majesty  at  Plymouth,  provided  the  appellant 
furnish  security  to  prosecute  such  appeal. 

Soon  after  the  settlement  at  Plymouth,  the  governor  and  his  assist- 
ants were  constituted  a  judicial  body,  and  supreme  in  jurisdiction,  and 
it  was  substantially  a  court  of  appeal,  from  inferior  courts. 


BENCH  AND   BAR.  197 

In  1685,  it  became  a  law  in  this  colony  to  establish  in  the  three 
counties  of  Bristol,  Plymouth,  and  Barnstable,  two  courts  in  each 
county,  which  should  be  presided  over  by  three  magistrates,  residing 
in  their  several  counties,  a  majority  of  whom  constituted  the  requisite 
number  to  make  a  legal  decision.  Such  county  courts  had  the  power 
vested  in  them  to  hear,  try  and  determine  according  to  law,  all  matters, 
actions,  cases  and  complaints,  both  civil  and  criminal,  not  extending  to 
life,  limb  or  banishment,  or  matters  of  divorce. 

The  same  year  (1686)  the  general  court  passed  a  law,  that  Barnsta- 
ble, Sandwich,  Yarmouth  and  Eastham,  the  villages  of  Sippican, 
Succonesset  and  Monomoy,  should  be  a  county,  Barnstable  the  county 
town,  and  said  county  be  called  the  county  of  Barnstable,  in  which 
should  be  held  two  county  courts  annually  at  the  county  town,  giving 
them  power  to  settle  and  dispose,  according  to  law,  the  estate  of  any 
person  dying  intestate  within  the  county,  to  grant  letters  of  adminis- 
tration, and  take  probate  of  wills;  to  make  orders  about  county  prisons, 
highways  and  bridges,  and  as  occasion  should  demand,  order  rates  to 
be  made  in  the  several  towns  to  defray  county  charges. 

The  general  court  adopted  the  common  law  of  England,  that  a 
magistrate  or  any  court  should  have  power  to  determine  all  such  mat- 
ters of  equity  in  cases  or  actions  that  had  been  under  their  cognizance 
as  could  not  be  reached  by  the  common  law;  such  as  the  forfeiture 
of  an  obligation,  breach  of  covenants  without  great  damage,  or  the 
like  matters  of  apparent  equity.  But  all  judgments  acknowledged 
before  any  two  magistrates  and  the  clerk  of  the  court  should  be  good 
and  sufficient  in  law. 

It  became  a  law  in  1662,  that  every  town  in  this  colony  should 
choose  three  or  five  discreet  men  annually,  who  should  in  June  be 
presented  to  the  general  court  at  Plymouth  for  appearance,  who,  after 
being  duly  sworn  before  a  magistrate,  should  have  power  to  hear,  try 
and  determine  all  actions  of  debt,  trespass  or  damage,  and  other 
causes,  not  exceeding  forty  shillings  in  its  jurisdiction.  This  was  the 
court  of  selectmen,  which  had  four  annual  sessions.  The  record 
dimly  shadows  the  fact  that  as  early  as  1640-2  there  was  established  a 
"Select  Court,"  whose  limit  of  jurisdiction  was  twenty  shillings. 

By  virtue  of  the  charter  of  William  and  Mary,  granted  in  1691-2, 
among  other  rights  were,  that  Massachusetts  bay,  the  colony  of  New 
Plymouth,  the  province  of  Maine  and  Nova  Scotia  were  united  and 
made  one  province,  called  the  province  of  the  Massachusetts  bay,  which 
union  marked  a  new  order  of  things  in  these  provinces.  This  period 
inaugurated,  among  other  things,  a  revision  of  the  judiciary,  making, 
changing  and  revising  much  of  it. 

The  first  session  of  the  general  court,  under  the  new  charter,  met 
at  Boston  on  June  8,  1692,  and  continued  nineteen  days,  until  June  27, 


198  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

1692.  It  was  ordered  at  this  first  session  of  the  general  court,  that  all 
the  local  laws  made  by  the  late  governor  and  company  of  Massachu- 
setts bay  and  of  New  Plymouth,  not  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  Eng- 
land nor  inconsistent  with  the  present  constitution  and  settlement  by 
their  majesties'  royal  charter,  do  remain  and  continue  in  full  force  in 
the  respective  places  for  which  they  were  made  and  used  until  Novem- 
ber 10,  1692,  excepting  in  cases  where  other  provision  is  or  shall  be 
made  by  this  court  or  assembly;  and  all  persons  were  required  to  con- 
form themselves  accordingly:  and  the  several  justices  were  thereby 
empowered  to  the  execution  of  said  laws  as  the  magistrates  formerly 
were.  On  June  28,  1692,  an  act  was  passed  for  holding  courts  of  jus- 
tice on  or  before  the  last  Tuesday  of  July,  1692,  to  be  a  general  ses- 
sions of  the  peace,  held  in  each  county  of  the  province,  by  the  justices 
of  the  same  county,  or  three  of  them  at  least,  who  were  empowered  to 
hear  and  determine  all  matters  relating  to  the  conservation  of  the  peace, 
and  whatever  was  by  them  cognizable  by  law;  the  said  justices  being 
approved  by  the  selectmen  of  each  town.  "That  the  sessions  of  the 
peace  be  successively  held  within  the  several  counties,  at  the  same 
times  and  places,  as  the  county  courts,  or  inferior  courts  of  common 
pleas,  are  hereinafter  appointed  to  be  kept.  That  they  shall  hear  and 
determine  all  civil  actions  arising  or  happening  within  the  same,  tria- 
ble at  the  common  law  according  to  former  usage.  The  justices  for 
said  court,  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  shall  be  appointed  and  commis- 
sioned by  the  Governor,  with  advice  and  consent  of  the  council; — 
that  all  writs  and  attachments  shall  issue  out  of  the  clerk's  office  of 
the  said  several  courts,  signed  by  the  clerk  of  such  court,"  and  the 
jurors  to  serve  at  said  courts,  were  to  be  chosen  according  to  former 
custom,  and  qualified  as  was  directed  in  their  majesties  royal  charter. 
— This  act  was  to  continue  until  other  provision  be  made  by  the  gen- 
eral court  or  assembly. 

An  act  was  passed,  November  25,  1692,  establishing  judicatories 
and  courts  of  justice  within  this  province,  which  were  similar  in  their 
powers  and  jurisdictions,  to  those  hitherto  existing.  Their  majesties', 
justices  of  the  peace  had  jurisdiction  of  all  manner  of  debts,  trespasses 
and  other  matters  not  exceeding  forty  shillings,  wherein  the  title  to 
land  was  concerned,  from  which  decisions  the  defendant  had  the  right 
of  appeal  to  the  next  inferior  court  of  common  pleas.  There  were 
quarter  sessions  of  the  peace,  by  the  justices  of  the  peace  in  the  same 
county,  held  at  specified  places,  each  three  months  in  the  county,  to 
hear  and  determine  all  matters  relating  to  the  conservation  of  the 
peace,  and  punishment  of  oflfenders,  and  all  other  things  cognizable  by 
them  according  to  law. 

There  was  a  superior  court  of  judicature  extending,  in  its  jurisdic- 
tion, over  the  whole  province,  having  a  chief  justice  and  four  other 


BENCH  AND   BAR.  199 

associate  justices,  three  of  whom  constituted  a  quorum,  having  gen- 
eral jurisdiction  of  causes  both  civil  and  criminal.  The  terms  of 
court  were  held  for  the  counties  of  Barnstable,  Plymouth  and  Bristol, 
at  Plymouth  on  the  last  Tuesday  of  February.  Wherever  this  court 
was  held,  the  justices  held  a  court  of  assize  and  general  goal  delivery. 
A  high  court  of  chancery  was  held,  to  hear  and  determine  all  matters 
in  equity,  which  could  not  be  reached  by  the  courts  of  law.  This 
court  was  held  by  the  governor,  or  such  other  as  he  might  appoint  as 
chancellor,  assisted  by  eight  or  more  of  the  council.  Any  party  in  this 
court  could  appeal,  Wherein  the  matter  in  controversy  exceeded  three 
hundred  pounds  sterling. 

By  the  authority  of  the  province  charter  of  William  and  Mary  of 
1691-2,  power  was  given  to  the  governor  and  council  to  grant  the  pro- 
bate of  wills,  and  appoint  executors  and  administrators  on  estates  of 
deceased  persons  of  this  province. 

The  judiciary  system,  from  the  time  of  the  union  of  the  colonies, 
to  the  revolutionary  period,  was  substantially  the  same  in  spirit,  form 
and  general  jurisdiction,  that  existed  previous  to  this  time,  yet  many 
minor  changes  it  was  necessary  to  make.  (See  Province  Laws  Chap.  23, 
1699.  Chap.  18,  1700.  Chap.  5, 1699).  At  the  beginning  of  the  revo- 
lutionary period,  1775-6,  a  court  of  admiralty  was  established,  to  be 
held  at  Plymouth, — its  judges  to  be  appointed  by  the  majority  of  the 
council, — to  try  the  justice  of  the  capture  of  any  vessel  brought  into 
either  Barnstable,  Plymouth,  Bristol,  Dukes  county  or  Nantucket. 
Subsequently  the  jurisdiction  of  this  court  was  enlarged.  The  laws 
relating  to  the  judiciary,  after  the  beginning  of  the  revolutionary 
period,  were  enacted  to  be  in  full  force  and  virtue  until  November  1, 
1785,  by  the  session  held  at  Boston,  November  1, 1779,  continuing  sun- 
dry laws  that  then  existed,  and  were  near  expiring,  with  all  and  every 
clause,  matter  or  thing  therein  respectively. 

The  magistrates  of  the  earliest  courts  in  the  Old  Colony,  officiated 
as  early  as  1640,  i.e.,  Edmund  Freeman  of  Sandwich,  Thomas  Dimock 
of  Barnstable;  and  John  Crow  of  Yarmouth.  A  court  was  held  at 
Yarmouth  June  18,  1642,  before  Edward  Winslow,  Myles  Standish  and 
Edmund  Freeman. 

In  1679,  a  select  court  was  established  in  each  town.  Those  com- 
missioned to  hold  them  were,  in  Sandwich,  Edmund  Freeman,  John 
Blackwell  and  Thomas  Tupper;  in  Yarmouth,  Edmund  Howes,  En- 
sign Thacher,  Edward  Sturgis,  John  Miller,  and  Jeremiah  Howes; 
in  Barnstable,  Joseph  Lothrop,  James  Lewis,  and  Barnabas  Lothrop; 
and  in  Eastham,  Jonathan  Sparrow,  Mark  Snow,  and  John  Doane.  In 
1689,  Jonathan  Sparrow  of  Eastham  and  Stephen  Skiflfe  of  Sandwich 
were  appointed  county  judges. 

After  the  union  of  the  colonies,  the  following  is  the  list  of  the 
judges  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  of  the  county  of  Barnstable: 


200  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

December  7,  1692,  John  Freeman,  Eastham;  December  7,  1692, 
Bar's  Lothrop,  Barnstable;  December  7.  1692,  John  Thacher,  Yar- 
mouth; December  7,  1692,  Stephen  Skiffe,  Sandwich;  March  6,  1695, 
Jon'n  Sparrow,  Eastham;  July  17,  1699,  John  Sparrow,  Eastham; 
June  8,  1710,  Wm.  Bassett,  Sandwich;  July  5,  1713,  Daniel  Parker, 
Barnstable;  July  6,  1713,  Thomas  Payne,  Eastham;  April,  1715,  John 
Otis,  Barnstable;  April,  1714,  Sam.  Annable,  Barnstable;  July  20, 1711, 
John  Gorham.  Barnstable;  July  5,  1713,  John  Doane,  Eastham;  July 
14,  1715,  Mela'h  Bourne.  Sandwich;  July  14,  1715,  Sam.  Sturgis,  Barn- 
stable; December  10,  1715,  Nath.  Freeman,  Harwich;  November  14, 
1721,  Jos.  Lothrop,  Barnstable;  March  16,  1722,  Jos.  Doane,  Eastham; 
December  26,  1727,  Ezra  Bourne,  Sandwich;  March  10,  1729.  Peter 
Thacher,  Yarmouth;  March  10,  1729,  Shub'l  Baxter,  Yarmouth;  June 
22,  1736,  John  Thacher,  Yarmouth;  June  22,  1736,  John  Davis,  Barn- 
stable; December  21,  1739,  John  Russell,  Barnstable;  January  27,1742, 
Shub.  Gorham,  Barnstable;  January  27, 1742,  Dav.  Crocker,  Barnstable; 
August  9,  1746,  John  Otis,  Barnstable;  February  24,  1763,  Roland  Cot- 
ton, Sandwich;  May  9,  1770,  Is'c  Hinckley,  Barnstable;  September  13, 
1753,  Thos.  Winslow,  Harwich;  June  2,  1758,  Sylv.  Bourne,  Barn- 
stable; August  2,  1758,  Thos.  Smith,  Sandwich;  December  19,  1758, 
Row.  Robinson,  Falmouth;  May  23,  1760,  Ny's  Marston,  Barnstable; 
February  1,  1764,  James  Otis,  Barnstable;  February  1,  1764,  Edw. 
Bacon,  Barnstable;  June  20,  1765,  John  Gorham,  Barnstable. 

At  the  interruption  of  the  revolutionary  period  the  following  were 
known  to  belong  to  the  common  pleas  court :  Melatiah  Bourne,  Shear- 
jashub  Bourne,  David  Gorham,  Solomon  Otis,  Kenelm  Winslow,  David 
Thacher,  Daniel  Davis,  Joseph  Otis,  and  Richard  Bourne. 

Immediately  following  1774,  the  appointment  of  judges  was  con- 
ferred upon  the  governor  alone,  and  the  first  appointments  in  the  county 
were  in  the  names  of  the  "  Governor  and  People  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,"  viz. :  October  11,  1775,  James  Otis,  Barnstable  ;  Nath.  Freeman, 
Sandwich ;  Daniel  Davis,  Barnstable ;  and  Richard  Baxter,  Yarmouth. 
The  following  appointments  were  also  made  :  October  13, 1775,  Joseph 
Nye,  jr..  Sandwich  ;  March,  27,  1781,  Sol.  Freeman,  Harwich  ;  March 
21,  1793,  John  Davis,  Barnstable;  June  28,  1799,  Ebenezer  Bacon, 
Barnstable;  February  11,  1801,  David  Scudder,  Barnstable;  February 
14,  1803,  Sam'l  Waterman,  Wellfleet;  February  20,  1804,  Thomas 
Thacher,  Yarmouth  ;  February  22,  1809,  Isaiah  L.  Green,  Barnstable  ; 
February,  1809,  Timothy  Phinney,  Barnstable;  August  22,  1809, 
Wendell  Davis,  Sandwich. 

As  session  justices  for  the  county  (immediately  after  the  circuit 
court  of  common  pleas  was  established)  Richard  Sears  of  Chatham 
was  commissioned  June  10,  1814,  and  Calvin  Tilden  of  Yarmouth  on 
February  15,  1815. 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  201 

Since  the  beginning  of  this  century,  the  following  were  appointed 
judges  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  for  this  county  :  Nath.  Freeman, 
Sandwich,  chief  justice  ;  John  Davis.  Barnstable,  chief  justice,  1811 ; 
Jos.  Dimick,  Falmouth,  chief  justice,  1808 :  James  Freeman,  Sand- 
wich, justice,  1808;  Sam'l  Freeman,  Eastham,  justice,  1811 ;  Isaiah  L. 
Green,  Barnstable,  justice,  1812;  Sol'n  Freeman,  Brewster,  justice, 
1812;  Richard  Sears,  Chatham,  justice,  1816;  Calvin  Tilden,  Yar- 
mouth, justice,  1816;  Sam'l  P.  Crosswell,  Falmouth,  justice,  1819; 
Elijah  Cobb,  Brewster,  justice,  1819  ;  Elisha  Doane,  Yarmouth,  justice, 
1819;  Naler  Crocker,  Barnstable,  special  justice,  1822;  Melatiah 
Bourne,  Sandwich,  special  justice,  1822. 

The  legislature  of  1828  abolished  the  court  of  sessions  and  commis- 
sioners of  highways,  and  established  in  their  place,  a  court  of  county 
commissioners,  since  which  time  this  board  has  been  composed  as  be- 
low indicated.  The  first  court  of  county  commissioners  was  organized 
in  1828,  with  Samuel  T.  Crosswell,  Matthew  Cobb,  and  Obed  Brooks 
as  commissioners.  On  the  11th  of  June,  1835,  Jesse  Boyden  of  Sand- 
wich, Michael  Collins  of  Eastham  and  Alexander  Baxter  of  Yarmouth, 
having  been  elected,  organized  under  the  statute  of  the  preceding 
April.  Chapter  XIV.  of  the  Revised  Statutes  provided  that  on  and 
after  the  first  Monday  in  April,  1838,  three  commissioners  should  be 
chosen  every  third  year  to  serve  three  years.  In  1838  Jesse  Boyden, 
Michael  Collins  and  Charles  Sears  were  elected; — in  1841,  Zenas  D. 
Bassett,  Isaac  Hardy,  and  John  Newcomb ;  in  1844  and  1847,  Seth 
Crowell  of  Dennis,  Ebenezer  Nye  of  Falmouth,  John  Newcomb  of 
Wellfleet ;  1850,  Seth  Crowell,  John  Doane  of  Orleans,  David  K.  Akin 
of  Yarmouth  ;  1853,  John  Doane,  David  K.  Akin,  and  Simeon  Dilling- 
ham of  Sandwich. 

The  act  of  March  11,  1854,  directed  the  commissioners  to  choose 
by  ballot  one  of  their  number  to  retire  in  1854,  one  in  1855,  the  other 
to  hold  his  office  until  1856,  and  provided  for  the  annual  election  of 
one  commissioner  at  the  general  election  each  year,  whose  term  of 
ofiice  should  be  three  years.  In  1855  David  H.  Smith  succeeded  David 
K.  Akin,  and  in  1856  William  Hewins  succeeded  Simeon  Dillingham. 
In  September,  1856,  Edward  W.  Ewer  of  Sandwich  was  elected  to  fill 
the  vacancy  of  David  H.  Smith.  Since  that  time  the  three  year  terms 
begin  in  January.  The  names  of  the  several  commissioners  with  the 
year  in  which  their  terms  began,  are  as  follows  :  1857,  James  Gifford 
of  Provincetown ;  1858,  Edward  W.  Ewer  of  Sandwich  ;  1859,  Joseph 
H.  Sears  of  Brewster;  1860,  John  W.  Davis  of  Wellfleet;  1861  and 
1864,  Erasmas  Gould  of  Falmouth  ;  1862,  Joseph  H.  Sears  of  Brewster ; 
1863  and  1869,  Daniel  Paine  of  Truro;  1865  to  1883,  James  S.  Howes 
of  Dennis  ;  1867  to  1875,  Ebenezer  S.  Whittemore  of  Sandwich  ;  1872, 
Elijah  E.  Knowles  of  Eastham ;  1875,  Jonathan  Higgins  of  Orleans  •" 


202  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

1876  to  1884,  Joshua  C.  Robinson  of  Falmouth ;  1881,  Nathan  D.  Free- 
man of  Provincetown  (died  in  oflBce) ;  1886,  Solomon  E.  Hallett  of 
Chatham  ;  1888,  Samuel  Snow  of  Barnstable ;  1888,  Isaiah  C.  Young  of 
Wellfieet,  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  N.  D. 
Freeman,  and  reelected  in  1889,  for  further  term. 

By  the  statute  of  1784,  probate  courts  were  established,  with  pow- 
ers and  jurisdiction  given  by  the  laws  of  the  commonwealth.  The 
appellate  jurisdiction  is  vested  in  the  supreme  judicial  courts.  By  the 
charter  of  William  and  Mary  the  authority  was  vested  in  the  governor 
and  council,  by  which  probate  officers  were  appointed  in  the  several 
counties,  exercising  a  delegated  authority,  from  the  decrees  of  which 
appeals  were  taken  to  the  governor  and  council,  who  remained  the 
supreme  court  of  probate.  Such  was  the  commencement  of  the  pro- 
bate court  as  a  distinct  tribunal.  This  probate  court  continued  to 
exercise  probate  jurisdiction,  until  county  probate  courts  were  estab- 
lished under  the  state  constitution,  and  the  act  of  1784,  under  which 
the  probate  courts  were  first  formally  established,  and  which 
act  provided  for  the  holding  of  a  probate  court  within  the  several 
counties,  and  for  the  appointment  of  judges  and  registers  of  probate, 
and  transferred  the  appellate  jurisdiction  from  the  governor  and 
council  to  the  supreme  judicial  court,  which  is  the  supreme  court  of 
probate.  The  probate  courts  thus  organized  continued  to  exercise 
probate  jurisdiction  until  the  law  of  1858,  chapter  93,  which  abolished 
the  office  of  judge  of  probate  and  provided  for  the  appointment  in 
each  county  of  a  suitable  person  to  be  judge  of  probate  and  judge  of 
the  court  of  insolvency,  and  be  designated  the  judge  of  probate  and 
insolvency. 

The  decrees  of  the  probate  court,  upon  subjects  within  its  jurisdic- 
tion, are  final,  unless  appealed  from.  They  cannot  be  questioned  in 
courts  of  common  law,  neither  will  a  writ  of  error  lie  to  its  judgments, 
nor  will  certiorariWe  from  the  supreme  court;  but  the  illegal  decrees 
of  the  probate  court  are  nullities,  and  may  be  set  aside,  by  plea  and 
proof;  but  an  aggrieved  party  may  appeal  to  the  supreme  court  of 
probate,  as  prescribed  by  statute.  The  probate  courts  for  each  county 
have  jurisdiction  of  the  probate  of  the  wills,  of  granting  administra- 
tion of  the  estates  of  persons  who  at  the  time  of  their  decease,  were 
inhabitants  of  or  resident  in  the  county,  and  of  persons  who  die  out 
of  the  Commonwealth  leaving  estates  to  be  administered  within  the 
county;  of  the  appointment  of  guardians  to  minors  and  others;  of  all 
matters  relating  to  the  estates  of  such  deceased  persons  and  wards;  of 
petitions  for  the  adoption  of  children,  and  for  the  change  of  names; 
and  of  such  other  matters  as  have  been  or  may  be  placed  within  their 
jurisdiction  by  law. 

Governor  Joseph  Dudley  in  1702,  in  consideration  of  a  change  in 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  203 

the  charter  of  1691,  referring  to  the  probate  of  wills,  vesting  that 
power  in  the  governor  and  council;  and  finding  courts  established  in 
the  several  counties  for  that  purpose,  ordered  that  these  courts  be 
continued.  The  incumbents  have  been:  first,  in  1693,  Barnabas  Lo- 
throp;  June  15,  1714,  John  Otis;  December  26,  1727,  Melatiah  Bourne; 
January  6,  1740-1,  Sylvanus  Bourne;  February  1,  1764,  James  Otis; 
March  27,  1781,  Daniel  Davis;  May27, 1799,  Ebenezer  Bacon;  January 
30,  1800,  John  Davis;  June  8,  1825,  Job  E.  Davis;  January  11.  1828, 
Nymphas  Marston;  December  18,  1854,  George  Marston;  May  13, 1858, 
Joseph  M.  Day;  June  14,  1882,  Hiram  P.  Harriman. 

The  registers  of  probate  have  been :  in  1693,  Joseph  Lothrop; 
August  13,  1702,  William  Bassett;  June  14,  1721,  Nathaniel  Otis; 
August  23,  1729,  Sylvanus  Bourne;  January  6,  1740-1,  David  Gorham; 
August  28,  1776,  Nath.  Freeman;  January  22,  1823,  Abner  Davis; 
March  28,  1836,  Timothy  Reed;  June  29,  1852,  Nath'l  Hinckley; 
March  2,  1853,  George  Marston;  December  28,  1854,  Joseph  M.  Day; 
Rufus  S.  Pope;  June  29,  1858,  Charles  F.  Swift;  1858,  Jonathan  Hig- 
gins;  1874,  Charles  Thacher,  2d;  1884,  Freeman  H.  Lothrop. 

The  statute  of  1858,  Chapter  138,  authorized  the  governor  to  desig- 
nate, not  exceeding  tiine  justices  of  the  peace,  in  the  county  of  Barn- 
stable, as  trial  justices,  to  try  criminal  oflfenders,  whose  jurisdiction 
extended  to  any  town  in  the  county.  Subsequently  their  jurisdiction 
was  enlarged  by  statute  of  1877,  Chapter  211,  which  authorized  them 
to  have  original  and  concurrent  jurisdiction  with  the  superior  court 
of  civil  actions  of  contract,  tort,  or  replevin,  where  the  debt  or  dam- 
ages demanded  or  value  of  property  alleged  to  be  detained  is  more 
than  one  hundred  and  does  not  exceed  three  hundred  dollars.  In 
other  matters,  their  jurisdiction  was  coextensive  with  ordinary  munic- 
ipal and  district  courts. 

Those  who  have  held  the  office  of  trial  justice,  since  1858,  in  the 
county,  are:  Ebenezer  Bacon,  Barnstable,  from  1860  to  1869;  Edward 
W.  Ewer,  Sandwich,  1858  to  1860;  James  B.  Crocker,  Yarmouth,  1858 
to  1884;  George  W.  Donaldson,  Falmouth,  1858  to  1865;  Joseph  K. 
Baker,  jr.,  Dennis,  1859  to  1861;  John  W.  Davis,  Wellfleet,  1858  to 
1865;  Albion  S.  Dudley,  Provincetown,  1858  to  1863;  Cyrus  Weeks, 
Harwich,  1858  to  1866;  Ebenezer  S.  Whittemore,  Sandwich,  1860  to 
1889,  and  continues;  Marshall  S.  Underwood,  Dennis,  1861  to  1882; 
Isaac  Bea,  Chatham,  1862  to  1872;  Benjamin  F.  Hutchinson,  Province- 
town,  1868  to  1870;  Theodore  F.  Bassett,  Hyannis,  1868  to  1889  and 
continues;  Smith  K.  Hopkins,  Truro  and  Barnstable,  1867  to  1889  and 
continues;  Frederick  Hebard,  Dennis,  1868  to  1869;  Richard  S.  Wood, 
Falmouth,  1865  to  1875;  George  T.  Wyer,  Wellfleet,  1872  to  1889  and 
continues;  Shubael  B.  Kelley,  Harwich  Port,  1873  to  1889  and  contin- 
ues; Raymond  Ellington,  Provincetown,  1875  to  1878;  James  H.  Hop- 


204  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

kins,  Provincetown,  1886  to  1888;  Charles  F.  Chamberlayne,  Bourne, 
1884  to  1889  and  continues;  George  Godfrey,  Chatham,  1886  to  1889 
and  continues;  Jonathan  Kelley,  2d,  Dennis,  1886  to  his  death  in  1889; 
William  D.  Foster,  Provincetown,  1884  to  1885;  Tully  Crosby,  jr., 
Brewster,  appointed  in  1890  and  continues;  Watson  F.  Baker,  Dennis, 
1889,  and  continues. 

The  Bar  of  the  County  of  Barnstable. — The  bar  can  justly 
claim  some  of  the  highest  mental  lights  of  the  world,  and  yet  what  is 
known  of  its  members,  is  in  a  great  degree,  traditionary.  Very  few 
of  the  transcendent  efforts  in  the  forum  are  reported; — their  fame  and 
merit  are  passing  and  transitory;  and  are  forgotten  by  the  multitude 
who  heard  them.  Our  great  American  orator,  statesman,  and  patriot, 
James  Otis,  who  was  born  at  West  Barnstable,  February  5,  1725,  ex- 
hibited the  character  of  one  of  the  purest  patriots  and  eloquent  de- 
fenders of  human  rights,  that  the  American  continent  has  produced; 
— when  in  the  midst  (1761)  of  his  duties  as  advocate  general,  in  defend- 
ing the  writs  of  assistance,  but  deeming  them  illegal  and  unjust,  he 
immediately  resigned. — His  argument  in  this  case  produced  a  pro- 
found impression.  Such  was  his  unselfish  love  of  country,  that  he 
has  left  his  impress  as  an  ornament  on  the  column  of  time. 

The  finished  forensic  efforts  of  Rufus  Choate  and  other  eminent 
American  advocates,  would  adorn  the  pages  of  Cicero,  and  yet  much 
of  it  has  passed  into  forgetfulness.  A  few  Nestors  of  the  Suffolk  bar, 
occasionally  speak  of  the  scintillations  of  his  magnetic  mind,  and  the 
charm  of  his  speech,  yet  they  add  in  despair; — "  we  cannot  repeat  the 
effect  upon  the  breathless  multitude  who  heard  him,  with  the  inde- 
scribable power  of  a  magician."  No  one  is  able  to  rehearse  these 
masterly  utterances,  or  realize  the  effect  upon  the  enchanted  multi- 
tude. I  well  remember  how  deeply  moved  was  the  throng  in  the  court- 
room, when  he  closed  his  argument  for  the  defense  in  a  capital  case, 
where  the  life  or  death  of  the  defendant  was  depending  upon  the  ver- 
dict of  that  jury;  the  audience  refused  to  leave  the  room,  before  the 
verdict  came  in,  so  deeply  were  they  in  sympathy  with  Mr.  Choate 's 
client. 

It  will  be  impossible  to  say  much  concerning  the  early  members 
of  the  bar  of  the  county  of  Barnstable,  since  we  have  very  little  ma- 
terial relating  to  them  to  make  up  anything  approaching  the  dignity 
of  biography.  At  this  early  period  of  the  Pilgrims  and  some  years 
subsequently,  the  profession  of  the  law  hardly  had  a  name  in  the  Old 
Colony;  very  few  made  the  study  and  practice  of  the  law  an  exclusive 
profession;  and  those  who  were  members  of  the  bar,  it  is  difficult  to 
determine,  with  any  degree  of  accuracy,  until  we  pass  to  a  later 
time. 

As  early  as  1676,  Richard  Bourne  of  Sandwich,  Shearjashub  Bourne 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  205 

of  Barnstable,  and  Samuel  Prince  were  conversant  with  the  duties  of 
a  lawyer.  Hon.  Ezra  Bourne  of  Sandwich  was  by  preparation  and 
practice  a  lawyer  as  early  as  1700.  William  Bassett,  Samuel  Jennings 
and  Silas  Bourne  of  Sandwich,  were  lawyers  in  their  way;  and  so  was 
Nathaniel  Otis  of  Barnstable,  a  member  of  the  bar,  in  fact.  With  the 
exception  of  Ezra  Bourne,  Hon.  Timothy  Ruggles  was  the  most  able 
and  learned  lawyer  in  the  county.  He  came  to  Sandwich,  not  far  from 
the  year  1739, — having  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1732. 

Hon.  Shearjashub  Bourne  of  Barnstable  was  a  man  of  mark,  and 
during  the  first  years  of  the  republic,  he  was  the  representative  in 
congress  from  this  district,  during  the  first,  second  and  third  con- 
gresses. He  was  born  in  Barnstable  in  1744,  graduated  from  Harvard 
College  in  1764  and  died  in  1806.  He  was  a  class-mate  of  Governor 
Caleb  Strong,  and  other  distinguished  men.  Shearjashub  Bourne  was 
a  direct  descendant  of  Rev.  Richard  Bourne  of  Sandwich,  who  was 
one  of  the  most  able  men  who  came  to  Sandwich  in  1637,  and  finally- 
became  a  useful  and  devoted  missionary  to  the  Indians. 

Hon.  Lemuel  Shaw,  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  judicial  court  of 
Massachusetts,  from  August  31,  1830,  to  August  23,  1860,  died  at  Bos- 
ton, March  30,  1861.  This  illustrious  chief  justice  was  born  at  West 
Barnstable,  January,  9,  1781,  the  son  of  Rev.  Oakes  Shaw,  who  held 
here  the  pastorate  for  47  years.  The  son  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  the  class  of  1800,  with  Judge  Story,  William  E.  Channing 
and  other  distinguished  men.  Judge  Shaw  never  practiced  law  in  the 
county  of  Barnstable,  but  he  held  a  broad  and  secure  position  in  the 
affections  of  all  the  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  was  the  ac- 
knowledged chief  of  its  jurists.  No  man  in  any  period  of  our  history 
has  so  deeply  impressed  his  mental  power  and  judicial  reasoning 
upon  the  people  of  the  Commonwealth,  as  did  Judge  Shaw.  He  was 
constructive,  and  yet  he  was  progressive.  As  has  been  said,  for  the 
high  degree  of  symmetry  and  harmonious  development  to  be  found 
in  the  science  of  the  law  as  administered  in  our  courts,  we  are  largely 
indebted  to  his  comprehensive  and  vigorous  intellect.  He  had  an 
abiding  sympathy,  coupled  with  broad  mental  power  and  minuteness 
of  observation.  "  His  understanding  resembles  the  tent  which  the 
fairy  Paribanou  gave  to  prince  Ahmed.  Fold  it,  and  it  seems  a  toy 
for  the  hand  of  a  lady.  Spread  it,  and  the  armies  of  powerful  sultans 
might  repose  beneath  its  shade."  His  sympathies  were  deep  and 
broad,  which  an  incident  will  illustrate.  The  question  was  raised 
whether  a  heifer  calf  was  exempt  from  attachment,  which  caused  some 
merriment  at  the  Bar.  Judge  Shaw  paused  and  with  some  emotion 
said:  "Gentlemen,  this  may  seem  to  you  a  trifling  case,  but  it  is  a 
very  important  question  to  a  great  many  poor  families." 

Hon.  Nathaniel  Freeman,  jr.,  son  of  General  Nathaniel  Freeman  of 


206  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Sandwich,  was  born  May  1,  1766,  and  died  August  22,  1800,  at  the  age 
of  35  years.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  the  class  of  1787, 
with  John  Quincy  Adams,  and  other  men  of  ability.  He  studied  and 
practiced  law ;  but  at  the  age  of  30,  in  1796,  he  was  elected  to  the 
fourth  congress,  with  a  unanimous  vote,  save  one.  In  1798,  he  was 
elected  the  second  time  to  the  fifth  congress,  and  while  a  member  of 
this  body,  he  died  at  the  age  of  35.  Nathaniel  Freeman,  jr.,  was  a  per- 
son of  brilliant  mind,  and  a  man  of  great  powers  of  eloquence  for  one 
of  his  years;  and  yet  it  is  hardly  known,  even  in  the  Old  Colony,  what 
an  able  man  he  was.  His  was  an  untimely  death ; — what  fruit  might 
we  not  expect  from  the  golden  autumn  of  such  a  mind  ! 

Hon.  Timothy  Ruggles  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  lawyers 
ever  connected  with  the  bar  of  the  county  of  Barnstable;  born  in 
Rochester,  Mass.,  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  the  class 
of  1732,  before  his  24th  birthday,  in  1739,  he  became  an  inhabi- 
tant of  Sandwich,  and  he  began  the  practice  of  law  before  he  came 
here.  He  managed  to  be  elected  a  representative  to  the  provincial 
legislature  from  Sandwich.  He  married  Bathsheba  Newcomb,  a  young 
widow,  who  was  the  proprietor  of  the  tavern,  and  united  the  profes- 
sion of  the  law  with  that  of  innkeeper;  having  personal  supervision 
over  both.  With  all  else,  he  had  a  decided  military  bent,  and  was 
destined  to  be  distinguished  in  that  direction. — Freeman  says,  as  col- 
onel he  led  a  body  of  troops  to  join  Sir  William  Johnson  in  the  ex- 
pedition against  Crown  Point  in  1756.  He  was  in  the  battle  of  Lake 
George;  brigadier  general  under  Lord  Amherst;  removing  to  Hard- 
wick,  he  served  several  yeaVs  as  representative  from  that  town,  two 
of  which  he  was  speaker.  He  was  for  a  while  chief  justice  of  the 
court  of  common  pleas.  In  1765  he  was  a  delegate,  with  Otis  in  the 
colonial  convention,  and  was  chosen  its  president.  As  a  politician,  his 
popularity  was  fated  to  wane;  the  whigs  were  dissatisfied  with  his 
course,  and  the  house  of  representatives  reprimanded  him  from  the 
speaker's  chair.  His  assurance  never  for  a  moment  forsook  him.  As 
a  lawyer  he  was  shrewd  and  quick  of  apprehension,  and  was  bold  in 
his  conception;  in  his  manners,  rude  and  lordly:  artful  in  his  address 
to  the  jury;  sagacious  and  well  equipped  as  a  demagogue,  against 
whomsoever  he  was  pitted.  He  was  mentioned  as  a  mandamus  coun- 
sellor in  1774  and  proved  a  decided  loyalist.  Finding  concealment  in 
Boston,  until  its  evacuation,  he  retired  with  the  British  troops  to  Hali- 
fax, where  he  organized  a  body  of  loyal  militia  refugees  to  the  num- 
ber of  300.     He  died  in  Nova  Scotia  in  1798,  at  an  advanced  age. 

This  account  of  Mr.  Ruggles  is  protracted,  not  because  of  his  emi- 
nent goodness,  or  lack  of  ability,  but  for  his  extended  range  of  vicis- 
situdes in  life,  and  his  power  to  exhibit  them  with  a  firm  hand  and 
purpose.     I  will  dismiss  Mr.  Ruggles  with  an  anecdote. — An  old  lady 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  207 

-witness  comes  into  court  at  Barnstable,  before  the  chief  justice  ar- 
rives. The  court  enters  with  great  gravity,  finding  the  old  lady  in  his 
seat,  inquires  of  her,  who  gave  her  his  seat.  The  old  lady, 
pointing  to  Ruggles,  said,  ''He  gave  me  the  seat," — and  after 
the  old  lady  was  removed,  the  chief  justice,  turning  to  Ruggles, 
firmly  demanded  of  him  his  reasons  for  such  conduct.  His 
cool  and  characteristic  reply  was:  "  May  it  please  your  Honor,  I  thought 
that  the  place  for  old  women." 

Hon.  Zeno  Scudder  was  born  at  Barnstable  in  1807,  and  died  there 
June  26, 1857,  at  the  age  of  50.  Like  many  of  the  sons  of  the  Cape,  he 
had  a  decided  inclination  to  follow  the  sea;  but  before  he  reached  the  age 
of  21,  he  had  paralysis  of  his  right  limb,  causing  lameness.  This 
caused  him  to  change  his  plans.  Under  the  advice  of  Doctor  Nourse 
of  Hollowell,  and  at  Bowdoin  College,  he  pursued  the  study  of  medi- 
cine, and  after  completing  it  found  his  lameness  an  impediment  to  his 
practice  as  a  physician;  not  being  discouraged,  he  turned  his  attention 
with  zeal  to  the  study  of  the  law.  His  preparatory  course  was  partly 
pursued  at  the  Dane  Law  School  at  Cambridge.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1836.  He  first  opened  an  ofiice  in  Falmouth,  but  soon  after 
settled  in  his  native  town,  which  was  near  the  centre  of  business. 

By  studious  application  and  great  industry,  he  gained  and  deserved 
the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  best  read,  and  ablest  lawyers  in  the 
Commonwealth;  and  this  was  supplemented  by  an  honest  and  high- 
minded  purpose.  He  was  elected  to  the  Massachusetts  senate  in  1846, 
and  when  returned  to  the  same  body  in  1847,  was  chosen  president. 
He  was  elected  to  the  32d  and  33d  congresses,  but  before  he  took  his 
seat  in  the  33d,  a  severe  casualty  prostrated  him,  which  finally  caused 
his  death,  to  the  deep  regret  of  many  friends.  Mr.  Scudder  not  only 
had  a  keen,  but  a  broad  and  comprehensive  mind,  capable  of  grasping 
great  principles.  He  exhibited  this  in  his  masterly  speech  in  con- 
gress, August  12,  1852,  on  the  importance  of  American  fisheries.  Very 
few  members  of  congress  from  the  Old  Colony  were  more  faithful  to 
the  people  represented  than  Zeno  Scudder.  As  a  lawyer,  he  was 
jealous  of  the  just  rights  and  interests  of  his  clients,  but  never  claimed 
for  them  that  which  was  not  right,  or  proper  or  just.  He  believed 
the  law  to  be  a  noble  science,  and  one  of  dignity. 

Hon.  John  Reed  was  born  at  West  Bridgewater  in  1781,  and  died 
in  the  same  place,  in  1860,  at  the  age  of  79.  He  became  a  resident  of 
Yarmouth  in  early  life,  and  opened  an  ofiice  for  the  practice  of  law, 
and  took  high  rank.  He  was  once  a  representative  of  the  legislature 
from  Yarmouth,  and  was  twelve  times  elected  in  this  district  to  con- 
gress, serving  twenty-four  years  in  that  body.  He  was  called  the 
"  life  member."  In  1844  he  was  elected  lieutenant  governor  and 
was  re-elected  seven  successive  years  after  he  returned  to  Bridge- 
-water. 


208  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Hon.  Nymphas  Marston,  who  was  born  at  Barnstable,  February 
12, 1788,  and  died  there  May  2,  1864,  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in 
the  class  of  1807.  In  1828  Governor  Lincoln  appointed  him  judge  of 
probate,  and  he  served  26  years  to  1854,  at  which  time  he  resigned. 
Probably  no  lawyer  ever  practised  in  the  county  of  Barnstable,  who 
more  completely  gained  and  held  the  confidence,  love  and  esteem  of 
all  the  people  of  the  county,  than  Nymphas  Marston.  He  was  always 
ready  to  advise  a  settlement,  rather  than  contend  in  court;  but  when 
he  did  try  a  cause,  the  people  believed  he  was  on  the  side  pf  justice, 
and  he  usually  won  the  verdict.  He  was  one  of  Nature's  own  advo- 
cates; and  before  the  court  and  jury  he  was  a  magician.  He  was  a 
man  of  "  infinite  jest."  After  defending  in  court,  a  client,  who  was 
accused  of  stealing  a  pig,  the  jury  acquitted  him,  which  greatly  sur- 
prised the  defendant,  whereupon  he  whispered  in  Mr.  Marston's  ear: 
— "  What  shall  I  do  with  the  pig  ?  "  Mr.  M.'s  reply  was: — "  Eat  him,  the 
jury  say  you  did  not  steal  him  "I!  Mr.  Marston  could  have  been  elected 
to  almost  any  office  within  the  gift  of  the  people;  but  as  he  often  said: 
"  I  would  rather  be  Judge  of  Probate  for  the  county  of  Barnstable, 
and  protect  the  rights  of  its  widows  and  orphans  than  hold  any  other 
office." 

Hon.  Wendell  Davis,  was  born  about  1775,  died  in  Sandwich,  De- 
cember 30,  1830,  and  was  buried  in  Plymouth.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  settled  in  Sandwich  in  1799.  He  was  a  son  of  Thomas 
Davis  of  Plymouth.  He  was  clerk  of  the  Massachusetts  senate  in 
1803-1805,  afterwards  senator,  and  several  years  sheriff  of  the  county 
of  Barnstable,  and  he  held  other  offices  of  trust.  He  practised  law 
and  resided  in  Sandwich  about  thirty  years.  He  was  a  lawyer  pos- 
sessed of  great  natural  abilities; — a  direct  descendent  of  the  Pilgrims: 
Governor  Bradford,  Elder  Brewster,  and  Richard  Warren.  He  was 
a  safe  and  wise  counselor,  yet  seldom  appeared  in  court  as  an 
advocate. 

Hon.  Russell  Freeman,  the  tenth  child  of  General  Nathaniel  Free- 
man, was  born  October  7,  1782,  and  died  in  Boston  of  heart  disease  in 
1842.  He  was  several  years  collector  of  customs  in  New  Bedford; 
representative  in  the  legislature  from  Sandwich,  and  one  of  the  execu- 
tive council.  His  deafness  prevented  his  practising  law  at  the  bar, 
but  he  was  a  lawyer  of  pronounced  abilities,  and  an  able  and  safe  ad- 
viser, and  one  of  the  most  popular  men  in  the  Old  Colony;  coupled 
with  a  genial  disposition,  ready  wit,  quick  perceptions,  honorable 
aims  in  life,  sincere  in  his  friendships,  which  caused  him  to  be  widely 
known  in  the  Commonwealth,  and  highly  esteemed,  and  his  death 
universally  mourned.  On  his  tombstone,  by  his  direction,  is  inscribed; 
''  In  meipso  nihil;  in  Christo  otnne." 


BENCH  AND   BAR.  209 

Hon.  George  Marston,  born  in  Barnstable,  October  15, 1821,  died 
in  New  Bedford,  August  14,  1883;  studied  law  at  Cambridge  in  1844, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1845,  and  practised  his  profession  in 
Barnstable  and  New  Bedford.  During  1853  and  1854  he  was  register 
of  probate,  and  from  1855  to  1858,  judge  of  probate  of  the  county  of 
Barnstable.  In  1859  he  was  elected  district  attorney  for  the  Southern 
district.  Mr.  Marston  was  nominated  by  the  republicans  in  1878  for 
the  office  of  attorney  general,  to  succeed  Hon.  Charles  R.  Train,  and 
was  elected.  He  resigned  the  office  of  district  attorney  in  order  to 
enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  new  office,  and  was  re-elected  attorney 
general,  at  the  successive  elections  of  1879,  1880  and  1881.  He  was 
the  only  attorney  general  born  in  the  county  of  Barnstable.  Mr. 
Marston  was  by  general  consent,  one  of  the  ablest,  and  most  promi- 
nent and  influential  men  in  the  Old  Colony,  and  enjoyed  the  confi- 
dence and  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him.  After  a  few  years  most  men 
are  forgotten  by  the  larger  body  of  the  people;  not  so  with  George 
Marston.  His  life  was  so  filled  with  the  important  business  of  other 
men  throughout  the  Commonwealth,  that  his  name  and  fame  will  be 
handed  down  through  a  series  of  years.  Few  other  lawyers  ever  had 
a  better  facility  in  the  trial  of  causes  than  George  Marston;  he  may 
be  said  to  have  been  a  great  jury  lawj'er.  He  had  a  rich  and  peren- 
nial inspiration  of  language,  and  when  the  odds  seemed  against  him 
he  would  turn  the  tide  by  the  magic  of  his  speech.  He  was 
well  educated  as  a  lawyer,  yet  not  a  graduate  of  a  college ; — few 
graduates,  however,  could  excel  him  in  common  sense  and  purity 
of  diction.  The  universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  would 
have  added  no  glory  or  lustre  to  the  fame  or  breadth  of  under- 
.standing  of  William  Shakspeare.  Such  men  carry  universities  in 
their  heads. 

Hon.  John  B.  D.  Cogswell,  born  at  Yarmouth,  June  6,  1829,  died  at 
Haverhill,  June  10,  1889.  He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College,  in 
1845,  in  high  rank,  and  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Governor  Emery 
Washburn  and  Senator  Hoar  in  Worcester.  In  1850  he  took  the  de- 
gree of  LL.B.  at  Cambridge  Law  School.  He  opened  an  office  in 
Worcester  in  1857,  and  was  elected  a  representative  to  the  legislature. 
In  1858  he  moved  to  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  and  opened  an  office  there. 
In  1861  and  again  in  1865  he  received  the  appointment  of  United 
States  district  attorney  for  the  state  of  Wisconsin  by  President  Lin- 
coln. He  returned  in  1870  to  Yarmouth,  and  was  sent  as  representa- 
tive to  the  state  legislature  for  the  years  1871,  1872  and  1873,  and 
elected  state  senator  for  the  years  1877,  1878  and  1879,  and  was  presi- 
dent of  the  senate  in  1878  and  1879.  Mr.  Cogswell  was  a  man  of  un- 
questioned abilities,  coupled  with  uncommon  powers  of  oratory,  and 
urbanity  of  manners. 
14 


210  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Hon.  John  Doane  was  born  in  part  of  Orleans  then  embraced 
within  the  limits  of  Eastham,  on  May  28,  1791,  and  died  March  3, 
1881.     He  was  educated  at  Sandwich  Academy,  and  at  Bridgewater; 

he  studied  law  with  John  Reed,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 

Barnstable  about  1818,  and  practiced  for  more  than  half  a  century. 
He  was  representative  to  the  legislature,  and  in  1830  was  first  elected 
state  senator,  in  which  office  he  served  three  terms  with  dignity  and 
ability.  He  was  at  one  time  a  member  of  the  governor's  council.  In 
1850  and  again  in  1853  he  was  elected  county  commissioner  and  was 
thus  contemporary  in  that  court  with  David  K.  Akin,  Seth  Crowell 
and  Simeon  Dillingham. 

He  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  rare  social  posi- 
tion, respected  and  loved  by  all  who  knew  him,  his  life  work  as  an 
adviser,  peacemaker  and  friend  more  than  filling  up  the  measure  of 
man's  allotted  time.  Upon  the  town  in  which  he  resided  and  upon 
the  public  whose  interests  he  sought  to  serve  he  made  a  deep  and  last- 
ing impression  as  an  honest  and  sound  counselor,  who,  in  all  his  pro- 
fessional career  advised  settlements,  compromises  and  concessions 
instead  of  litigations  in  the  courts.* 

Seth  F.  Nye  of  Sandwich  was  born  May  13,  1791,  and  died  Sep- 
tember 13,  1856,  at  the  age  of  65  years  and  four  months.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  of  the  county  of  Barnstable  about  1816,  and  prac- 
ticed here  for  forty  years  -  the  whole  period  of  his  business  life.  He 
held  various  offices  of  trust,  was  representative  to  the  legislature,  and  a 
delegate  in  the  convention  of  1820,  to  revise  the  constitution  of  the 
state.  He  rarely  appeared  in  court  as  an  advocate,  but  prepared  his 
cases  for  argument  by  other  counsel.  He  was  a  genial  person,  and 
one  of  good  sense, — a  useful  and  benevolent  citizen,  and  his  death 
was  deeply  lamented  by  those  who  knew  him. 

John  Walton  Davis  was  born  at  Wellfleet  in  1817,  and  died  at 
Provincetown  in  1880.  He  was  at  Amherst  College  two  years,  and 
subsequently  graduated  from  Bowdoin  College,  Maine.  He  gradu- 
ated with  distinction,  as  a  fine  scholar,  at  the  head  of  his  class.  He 
studied  law  at  Ellsworth,  Me.,  and  after  being  admitted  to  the  bar, 
practiced  at  Topham,  Me.,  Boston,  Mass.,  Wellfleet  and  Provincetown. 
Mr.  Davis  held  offices  of  public  trust,  among  which  were  internal  rev- 
enue assessor,  trial  justice,  county  commissioner,  and  others.  He  was 
a  genial  and  agreeable  gentleman,  and  one  who  possessed  sufficient 
ability  to  have  filled  more  important  stations  in  life  than  he  did. 

Benjamin  F.  Hutchinson,  came  to  Provincetown  from  the  county 
of  Essex,  (about  1870)  and  practiced  law,  jointly  with  teaching.  He 
was  very  devoted  to  the  cause  of  education,  and  was  connected  with 

*  The  ancestry  and  family  of  Enquire  Doane  are  further  noticed  in  the  chapter  on 
Orleans. — Ed. 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  211 

the  school  board  until  his  death.  He  was  thoroughly  honest,  and 
well  equipped  in  the  science  of  the  law;  was  an  expert  in  drawing 
legal  documents,  which  bore  the  test  of  scrutiny.  He  rarely  ap- 
peared in  court  as  an  advocate,  but  prepared  his  cases  for  others 
to  argue.     He  died  at  Provincetown. 

Hon.  Simeon  N.  Small  of  Yarmouth,  was  bom  at  Chatham, 
Mass.,  but  practiced  law  at  Yarmouth  and  Milwaukee,  Wis.  He 
held  various  public  offices  before  emigrating  to  the  West,  among 
which  was  judge  of  the  court  of  insolvency.  In  1860,  he  went  to 
Milwaukee,  and  built  up  a  large  law  practice,  and  accumulated  a 
fortune.  Mr.  Small  was  considered  an  able  and  good  lawyer,  and 
a  man  of  integrity,  in  whom  confidence  could  be  placed.  He  died 
in  Milwaukee. 

Frederick  Hallett  of  Yarmouth,  studied  law  about  1862-3  with 
Judge  Day  of  Barnstable,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  began 
the  practice  of  the  law,  with  every  prospect  of  brilliant  success; 
but  he  was  soon  called  to  lay  down  his  life's  armor,  and  died  at 
the  untimely  age  of  25  years.  He  was  universally  beloved  and 
when  he  died,  Yarmouth,  as  a  town,  put  on  its  sincere  mourning.* 
Charles  F.  Chamberlayne,  son  of  Rev.  N.  H.  and  Hannah  S. 
(Tewksbury)  Chamberlain,  was  bom  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  November 
30,  1866.  He  prepared  at  the  Cambridge  High  School  and  graduated 
from  Harvard  College  in  1878.  He  also  gfraduated  at  Harvard  Law 
School  and  began  practice  in  Boston.  In  1883  he  edited  the  American 
edition  of  Best  on  Evidence,  and  the  following  year  was  appointed  trial 
justice  for  Barnstable  county — a  position  he  held  until  the  oflBce  was 
abolished  in  1890. 

Tully  Crosby,  jr.,  was  bom  in  South  Boston,  August  21, 1841.  His 
parents  removed  to  the  Cape  three  years  later,  where  he  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  and  at  the  Hyannis  Academy.  Afterward  he 
followed  the  sea  until  1875,  when  he  retired  and  settled  in  Brewster, 
where  he  now  resides.  He  began  the  study  of  law  in  1883,  taking  a 
special  course  in  the  Boston  University  School  of  Law,  under  Judge 
Bennett,  was  a  member  of  the  general  court  in  1885,  serving  as  clerk 
of  the  committee  on  education,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Barn- 
stable county,  October  14,  1887. 

Thomas  C.  Day  was  born  in  Barnstable,  April  20,  1856.  To  the 
excellent  advantages  of  the  village  school  were  added  those  of  Adams' 
Academy,  Quincy,  Mass.,  where  he  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1875, 
after  a  three  years'  course.  In  the  fall  of  1877,  after  two  years  in 
Harvard  College,  he  entered  the  law  office  of  his  father,  Judge  Joseph 
M.  Day,  then  of  Barnstable,  and  in  October,  1880,  was  admitted  to 

•The  sacceeding  portion  of  this  chapter  was  not  contributed  by  Mr.  Whittemore. — 
Ed. 


212  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

practice.  He  subsequently  became,  in  1882,  partner  with  him  in  the 
present  firm  of  J.  M.  &  T.  C.  Day,  with  one  ofl&ce  in  Barnstable  and 
one  in  Brockton,  Mass..  where  the  senior  partner  now  resides.  Mr. 
Day  is  a  democrat  in  politics,  and  although  yet  young,  has  been  rec- 
ognized by  the  party  as  a  capable  and  popular  standard  bearer. 

Alexander  McLellan  Goodspeed,  born  in  Falmouth  in  1847,  a  son 
of  Obed,  grandson  of  Walley,  and  great-grandson  of  Joseph  Good- 
speed,  was  educated  in  Lawrence  Academy,  Falmouth,  and  Phillips' 
Academy,  Andover.  He  subsequently  taught  in  public  schools,  and 
was  for  several  years  in  the  engineer  corps  of  a  Western  railroad. 
He  began  his  law  training  with  Marston  &  Crapo,  of  New  Bedford. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  Bristol  County  bar  in  March,  1880,  and  now 
is  established  as  attorney  at  law  in  New  Bedford,  but  has  a  substantial 
clientalage  at  Falmouth. 

Judge  Hiram  Putnam  Harriman,  of  Barnstable  county,  was  born 
at  Groveland,  Mass.,  in  the  valley  of  the  Merrimac,  February  6,  1846. 
His  father,  Samuel,  was  a  son  of  Moses  Harriman,  and  his  mother, 
Sally  Adams,  was  a  daughter  of  Henry  Hilliard.  Both  of  these  fam- 
ily names  have  been  well  known  and  honorably  represented  in  that 
part  of  Essex  county  for  nearly  two  hundred  years,  and  here  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  river  the  now  venerable  Samuel  Harriman  has 
passed  in  rural  peace  a  long  and  successful  career  as  an  extensive 
owner  and  tiller  of  the  soil.  The  early  training  of  the  lad  Hiram  was 
in  the  district  school  and  in  a  private  academy  at  Groveland,  where  he 
improved  the  brief  intervals  in  which  he  might  be  spared  from  the 
labors  of  the  farm.  He  was  the  youngest  of  three,  and  to  the 
teachings  of  an  older  sister  are  attributed  much  of  the  love  of  study 
and  thirst  for  knowledge  which  became  the  mainspring  of  his  higher 
aspirations.  With  such  a  resultant  as  these  circumstances  and  forces 
might  produce  in  an  enterprising  boy  of  eighteen,  intent  not  only 
upon  a  college  education,  but  aspiring  to  some  professional  career,  he 
became  a  student  of  Phillips'  Exeter  Academy  in  February,  1864,  en- 
tering at  the  middle  of.  the  junior  year.  In  one  year  and  a  half  he 
had,  by  special  eflfort,  mastered  the  Greek  and  Latin  preparatory 
course,  and  went  up  to  Dartmouth  in  June,  1865,  where  he  passed 
the  examination  to  enter  the  college.  His  college  life  began  the  fol- 
lowing September,  and  closed  with  his  graduation  with  the  class  of 
1869 ;  and  although  he  taught  three  winters  during  the  course  he 
stood  sixth  in  a  class  of  more  than  sixty.  Several  of  the  Cape  towns 
depended,  at  that  period,  upon  the  students  of  Dartmouth  College  for 
their  best  winter  teachers,  and  it  was  while  a  student  of  this  institu- 
tion that  he  first  became  known  on  the  Cape  as  a  teacher  two  winters 
in  the  public  schools  of  Truro.  Here  by  his  urbanity  of  manners  and 
devotion  to  his  work  he  attained  a  high  position  as  a  teacher  and  at- 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  213 

tracted  to  himself  many  warm  friends,  who  have  shown  a  pride  and 
interest  in  his  subsequent  advancement. 

From  September,  1869,  until  the  following  May  he  was  at  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  completing  a  course  which  he  began  with  Blackstone,  while 
teaching  the  country  school  at  South  Truro  in  the  winter  of  1867-8. 
His  graduation  at  the  Albany  Law  School  entitled  him  to  admission 
to  practice  in  New  York,  and  after  a  short  association  with  J.  P.  Jones, 
a  prominent  lawyer  at  Haverhill,  Mass.,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  Essex  county  and  removed  the  same  year  to  Wellfleet — then  the 
terminus  of  the  railroad, — establishing  I  imself  on  Cape  Cod,  in  the 
practice  of  law.  There  has  never  been  since,  nor  had  there  existed 
for  many  years  before,  a  better  opportunity  for  a  young  lawyer  of  his 
stamp  to  obtain  a  foothold  in  Barnstable  county.  Mr.  Marston,  who 
for  years  had  a  large  and  profitable  practice,  had  removed  to  New 
Bedford  ;  George  A.  King  of  Barnstable  was  gradually  dropping  his 
Cape  practice  and  soon  gave  his  whole  attention  to  his  Boston  busi- 
ness. 

Mr.  Harriman  took  an  office  at  Barnstable,  and  the  following  year 
one  at  Harwich,  where  the  failing  health  of  his  friend,  Jonathan  Hig- 
gins,  Esq.,  who  advised  the  step,  was  making  a  vacancy  for  some  other 
member  of  the  bar.  At  these  offices  Judge  Harriman  still  pursues  his 
profession.  His  faithfulness  in  the  management  of  the  causes  com- 
mitted to  his  care,  the  perseverance  and  excellent  order  in  which  he 
prepares  his  cases  for  trial,  his  uniform  courtesy  to  opponents,  and  his 
thorough  honesty  in  all  matters  of  his  profession,  have  gradually  and 
successfully  advanced  him  to  the  head  of  the  bar  of  this  county.  On 
the  14th  day  of  June,  1882,  he  was  appointed  to  the  position  he  now 
fills  as  judge  of  probate  and  insolvency  for  the  county  of  Barnstable. 
In  this  important  office,  by  his  affability  and  uniform  courtesy  toward 
all  classes  who  have  occasion  to  need  his  ministrations,  he  has  won 
the  confidence  of  the  people,  who  are  proud  of  him  as  an  adopted  son 
of  Cape  Cod.  Almost  from  the  first  he  has  had  a  substantial  cliental- 
age.  He  was  counsel  for  the  old  Cape  Cod  railroad  until  the  consoli- 
dation, and  has  since  then  been  retained  by  the  Old  Colony  company. 

While  this  volume  was  in  course  of  completion  a  final  decision  was 
reached  in  the  famous  Snow-Alley  case — the  largest  suit  ever  decided 
in  the  Commonwealth  in  an  action  of  tort.  Judge  Harriman  was  re- 
tained by  Mr.  Snow  in  May,  1884,  and  began  laying,  in  his  own  thor- 
ough manner,  the  foundation  for  the  prosecution.  Mr.  Alley  employed 
several  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  the  county — including  Colonel  Robert 
G.  IngersoU  and  Ambrose  A.  Ranney,  and  for  almost  six  years  they 
stubbornly  contested  every  issue  of  fact  or  law.  After  three  trials  at 
Barnstable  a  statute  was  enacted  allowing  the  removal  of  the  case 
from  Barnstable  county,  where  the  defendant's  counsel  alleged  that 


214  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

they  could  not  get  justice  with  Harriman  opposing.  Four  verdicts 
were  reached,  and  twice  the  case  went  to  the  full  bench  before  the 
judgment  in  favor  of  Judge  Harriman's  client  was  paid. 

Judge  Harriman  was  married  September  25,  1870,  to  Betsey 
Franklin,  daughter  of  Captain  George  W.  Nickerson  and  grand- 
daughter of  Dr.  Daniel  P.  Cliflford  of  Chatham,  and  has  since  resided 
at  Wellfleet,  where  he  is  fully  identified  with  the  town's  local  inter- 
ests. 

Jonathan  Higgins,  of  Orleans,  was  born  there  November  21,  1816, 
and  was  there  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  in  the  academy.  His 
father,  Thomas,  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Higgins,  whose  father  and  grand- 
father each  bore  the  name  Jonathan.  Mr.  Higgins  studied  law  in  the 
probate  ofl5ce  with  Judge  J.  M.  Day,  and  in  1858  and  three  terms  there- 
after was  elected  register  of  probate.  He  has  since  devoted  his  time 
chiefly  to  the  practice  of  law.  The  title.  Deacon  Higgins,  by  which 
he  is  generally  known,  alludes  to  his  relation  with  the  Congregational 
church  of  Orleans.  His  deceased  wife,  Mary,  was  a  daughter  of  Seth 
Doane.  Of  their  seven  children,  Mrs.  Captain  Alfred  Paine,  Mrs.  O. 
E.  Deane  and  Hon.  George  C.  Higgins,  ex-mayor  of  Lynn,  are  the 
only  survivors.  The  present  Mrs.  Jonathan  Higgins  is  Ruth,  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  Snow. 

Smith  K.  Hopkins  was  born  in  Truro,  August  12, 1831,  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Stephen  Hopkins  who  came  in  the  Mayflower,  through 
Giles  his  son,  who  removed  from  Plymouth  to  Yarmouth.  Edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Truro  and  at  Truro  Academy,  under 
Joshua  H.  Davis,  Esq.,  now  superintendent  of  schools  in  Somerville, 
Mass.;  followed  the  sea  from  boyhood  until  twenty -one  years  of  age, 
then  went  to  Illinois  and  was  in  the  employment  of  Josiah  Lombard — 
formerly  of  Truro — in  the  real  estate  business,  until  1860.  In  1860 
returned  to  Truro  to  reside.  Married  in  1856,  to  Mary  A.  Hughes,  daugh- 
ter of  James  Hughes  of  Truro.  Five  children:  James  H.,  lawyer,  of  Prov- 
incetown;  Howard  F.,  editor  of  ProvincetownAdvocate;  Rajonond  A., 
Boston,  Mass.;  Winthrop  Stowell,  died  in  September,  1889;  Ethel  B.,  at 
school.  School  committee  1862  and  1863.  Representative  in  legislature 
in  1863.  Appointed  ensign  in  U.  S.  Navy  in  August,  1863,  and  served 
on  frigates  Savannah,  Brooklyn  and  Fort  Jackson  during  the  war.  Sent 
in  as  prize  master  of  English  steamer  Let-Her-Rip,  a  blockade  runner 
captured  at  Wilmington  by  the  Fort  Jackson,  and  after  delivering  her 
to  the  Admiral  at  Boston  Navj'  Yard,  was  appointed  temporarily  to 
command  the  gninboat  Jean  Sands;  subsequently  detached  and  or- 
dered again  to  the  frigate  Fort  Jackson.  Was  at  both  attacks  on  Fort 
Fisher  by  the  army  and  navy  in  December,  1864,  and  January,  1866, 
and  participated  in  the  assault  on  the  fort  at  the  time  of  its  capture; 
recommended  for  promotion  and  offered  an  appointment  to  be  retained 


AiiM^^^du^  /r^' 


C.     eiENSTADT. 


BENCH  AND  BAR.  •  215 

in  the  navy  at  the  close  of  the  war,  but  resigned  when  the  war  was 
over.  Was  one  of  the  selectmen,  assessors,  etc.,  of  Truro  from  1866 
to  1874,  and  chairman  from  1871  to  1874.  Studied  law  with  B.  F. 
Hutchinson  of  Provincetown;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  April,  1873. 
Register  of  deeds  for  Barnstable  county  1874,1875,1876,  and  has  been 
clerk  of  the  courts  for  Barnstable  county  since  1876.  Notary  public; 
justice  of  peace  since  1860,  and  trial  justice  since  1866.  Removed  from 
Truro  to  Barnstable  in  1875. 

James  Hughes  Hopkins,  oldest  son  of  Smith  K.  Hopkins  above  men- 
tioned, was  born  in  North  Truro,  February  20,1861.  After  attending 
the  public  schools  of  Truro,  and  the  Prescott  Grammar  School  of 
Somerville,  Mass.,  he  graduated  from  the  Somerville  High  School  in 
1878,  and  from  Harvard  College  in  1882.  He  then  taught  public 
sohools  at  North  Eastham  and  at  West  Barnstable,  while  continuing 
the  study  of  law,  for  which  he  early  evinced  a  taste  and  aptitude,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Barnstable  in  October,  1883.  Locating  in 
Provincetown,  he  has  become  fully  identified  with  its  public  interests, 
holding  oflBcial  positions  in  the  church  and  the  public  librar}'.  He 
has  been  elected  special  commissioner,  one  of  the  commissioners  of 
insolvency,  and  has  been  appointed  trial  justice.  Since  1886  he  has 
edited  the  Provincetown  Advocate,  as  noticed  by  Mr.  Swift  in  Chapter 

xni. 

F.  H.  LOTHROP. — The  present  register  of  probate  and  insolvency, 
is  Freeman  Hinckley  Lothrop  of  Barnstable,  who  was  bom  in  this 
village,  April  6,  1842.  His  father  Ansel  Davis  Lothrop',  bom  1812, 
was  a  son  of  James  Scudder  Lothrop",  (Isaac',  General  Barnabas*,  Bar- 
nabas' bom  1686,  Captain  John'  bom  here  1644,  Rev.  John  Lothrop'). 
This  illustrious  ancestor.  Rev.  John  Lothrop,  was  bom  in  1684  and 
in  1605  graduated  from  Queen's  College,  Cambridge,  and  in  1609  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  A.M.  He  came  to  Scituate,  Mass.,  in  1634,  whence 
he  came  to  Barnstable  in  1639  and  here  he  built  a  house,  where  the 
Globe  Hotel  now  stands.  He  lived  later  in  the  building  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Sturgis  Library,  where  he  died  November  8,  1653.  His 
son  Barnabas  was  first  judge  of  probate  here,  and  another  son  Joseph, 
also  an  ancestor  of  Freeman  H.,  was  the  first  register  of  probate  and 
register  of  deeds.  While  his  family  name  thus  comes  from  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  old  Mattacheese,  the  mother  of  Freeman  H. — Ruth 
Hinckley — was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Plymouth  Colony's  last  illustri- 
ous governor,  and  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  the  two  families 
have  been  prominent  factors  in  this  town  and  village. 

Freeman  H.  received  his  early  education  in  the  private  and  public 
schools  of  his  native  village,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  started  "  before 
the  mast "  on  a  merchant  voyage  to  Australia  and  the  East  Indies. 
He  afterward  made  another  voyage  to  Liverpool  and  Calcutta,  return- 


216  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ing  just  after  McCIellan's  defeats  in  the  Peninsula  and  in  season  to 
answer  Lincoln's  call  for  nine  months'  troops.  While  exempt  from 
military  duty,  as  a  seaman  in  actual  service,  and  before  liberal  boun- 
ties were  paid,  he  volunteered  as  a  private  in  August,  1862,  and  on 
September  12th  was  enrolled  in  Company  D  of  the  Forty-fifth  Massa- 
chusetts Infantry.  He  followed  the  fortunes  of  the  regiment  and 
participated  in  the  battles  of  Kinston,  Whitehall  and  Goldsboro',  in 
the  first  of  which  he  was  slightly  wounded  but  not  disabled  from  duty. 
After  that  battle  he  was  made  a  corporal  of  the  company,  and  was 
honorably  discharged  in  July,  1863,  with  the  regiment.  In  September 
of  that  year,  Mr.  Lothrop  applied  for  and  obtained  a  position  as  mas- 
ter's mate  in  the  navy  and  was  ordered  to  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard 
for  instruction.  He  was  finally  ordered  to  the  United  States  Steamer 
Agawam,  Alexander  C.  Rhind,  commander,  for  service  in  the  James 
river,  and  participated  in  an  engagement  at  Four  Mile  Creek  in  July, 
1864,  and  was  in  James  river  at  the  time  of  Grant's  movements  against 
Petersburg  and  on  the  banks  of  the  James.  He  was  promoted  to 
acting  ensign  in  December,  1864.  In  April,  1865,  the  Agawa7n  being 
then  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  news  was  received  of  the  surrender  of  Gen- 
eral Lee,  and  Mr.  Lothrop,  considering  the  fighting  at  an  end,  imme- 
diately tendered  his  resignation  which  was  accepted  in  May,  1S66. 
In  June  following,  Mr.  Lothrop  was  married  to  Hettie  Freeman, 
daughter  of  Alvah  Holway  of  Sandwich,  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends.  They  have  had  four  children  :  William  Freeman,  bom  in 
September,  1886;  Ruth  Hinckley,  born  July,  1868  (married  Nath'l  B. 
H.  Parker  of  Hyannis);  Joseph  Henry,  born  June,  1870,  and  Bertha 
Warren,  bom  in  February,  1884,  the  latter  being  their  only  child  now 
living. 

In  1886,  Mr.  Lothrop  was  offered  a  positian  as  railway  postal  clerk 
between  Boston  and  Orleans,  which  position  he  held  till  September, 
1872,  when  he  resigned  that  office  and  was  soon  after  called  to  act  as 
assistant  treasurer  of  the  Barnstable  Savings  Bank,  then  one  of  the 
largest  in  southeastern  Massachusetts.  In  1881  he  left  his  position 
in  the  bank  to  accept  an  appointment  to  the  office  of  register  of 
probate  and  insolvency  for  his  native  county,  to  which  position  he 
was  soon  elected  and  by  re-elections  has  since  continued  to  fill. 
While  in  the  saviags  bank  he  became  much  interested  in  reading 
law,  and  after  studying  under  the  instruction  of  H.  P.  Harriman, 
Esq.,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  April  11, 1884. 

As  an  attorney  he  gives  his  attention  only  to  such  office  prac- 
tice as  does  not  interfere  with  his  official  duties,  and  the  able  and 
faithful  discharge  of  his  responsible  trust  as  a  record  officer  has 
been  recognized  and  appreciated  by  the  public  which  he  serves. 
History  has  repeated  itself,  and   to-day  we  find   him  carefully  con- 


h/ify/i-..-^^^^^ 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  217 

tinuing  the  probate  records  which  an  ancestor  with  remarkable 
skill  and  care  began  as  early  as  1693. 

William  P.  Reynolds,  of  Hyannis,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  April  5, 
18S7.  He  is  a  native  of  Oseola,  Tioga  county,  Pa.,  where  he  was 
born  in  1859.  There  and  at  Willsboro,  Pa.,  he  received  his  early  edu- 
cation and  at  twenty  years  of  age  graduated  from  Cook  Academy, 
Havanna,  N.  Y.  He  entered  Amherst  College  in  1880  and  after  three 
years  came  to  Barnstable  and  resumed  the  study  of  law  with  Judge 
Joseph  M.  Day.  He  taught  the  Hyannis  high  school  from  1884  to 
1888,  prosecuting  his  professional  studies  during  the  interim,  and 
until  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  courts  of  the  Commonwealth. 
Mr.  Reynolds  is  now  the  superintendent  of  schools  for  Barnstable, 
and  since  early  in  1889  has  been  associate  editor  of  the  Cape  Cod 
Item. 

Hon.  Henry  A.  Scudder. — In  the  village  of  Osterville,  where  the 
waters  of  Vineyard  sound  wash  the  southern  shore  of  Cape  Cod,  a  son 
was  born,  on  the  25th  of  November,  1819,  to  Josiah  and  Hannah 
(Lovell)  Scudder.  They  gave  to  him  the  name  of  Henry  Austin,  and 
the  Commonwealth  knows  him  to-day  in  her  political  and  judicial  his- 
tory as  Judge  Scudder  of  Barnstable. 

The  family  name  became  a  part  of  New  England's  history  in  1635, 
when  John  Scudder,  who  was  born  in  England,  came  to  Charlestown, 
Mass.  In  1640  he  removed  to  Barnstable,  where  he  was  admitted  a 
freeman  in  1654,  and  where  he  died  in  1689,  leaving  a  wife,  Hannah, 
and  several  children.  His  sister  Elizabeth,  in  1644,  married  Samuel, 
son  of  Rev.  John  Lothrop,  and  removed  from  Boston  to  Barnstable 
the  same  year.  John  Scudder,  son  of  John  and  Hannah,  was  born  in 
Barnstable.  In  1689  he  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James  Hamb- 
lin,  and  afterward  removed  to  Chatham,  where  he  died  in  March,  1742, 
and  she  in  the  January  following.  Their  son  Ebenezer,  born  in  1696, 
at  Barnstable,  married  Lydia  Cobb  in  1725,  and  died  in  1737.  Their 
son  Ebenezer,  born  in  Barnstable  in  1733,  married  Rose  Delap  in  1759, 
and  died  June  8,  1818.  Their  seven  children,  including  Judge  Scud- 
der's  father,  were:  Ebenezer,  born  August  13, 1761;  Isaiah,  born  Janu- 
ary 8,  1768;  Asa,  born  July  25,  1771;  Elizabeth,  born  October  12, 1773; 
Josiah,  born  November  30,  1775;  James  D.,  born  October  27,  1779; 
Thomas  D.,  born  January  25,  1782.  Of  this  generation,  the  youngest 
was  a  merchant,  Josiah  was  a  farmer,  and  the  other  sons  followed  the 
sea  and  became  captains. 

The  children  of  Josiah  Scudder  were:  Puella  L.,  born  December  3, 
1800,  married  George  Hinckley,  and  died  August  30,  1885;  Josiah,  a 
merchant,  born  February  12, 1802,  married  first  Sophronia  Hawes  and 
second  Augusta  Hinckley,  and  died  December  29.  1877;  Freeman  L., 
a  merchant,  born  March  16,  1805,  married  Elizabeth   Hinckley,  and 


218  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

died  December  3,  1832;  Zeno,  born  August  18, 1807,  with  whose  politi- 
cal and  professional  career  the  reader  is  already  familiar;  Persis.born 
August  14,  1810,  married  Joseph  W.  Crocker,  and  died  April  24,  1844; 
Edwin,  merchant,  bom  September  23,  1815,  married  Harriet  N.  Phin- 
ney,  and  died  May  25,  1872;  Henry  A.  Scudder,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  the  youngest  and  the  only  survivor  of  the  family. 

At  an  early  age  Henry  A.  entered  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
village,  and  there  gained  the  rudiments  of  an  education.  He  then 
followed  the  example  of  most  of  the  boys  of  his  acquaintance  and  went 
to  sea,  commencing  as  he  supposed  his  life  work.  Not  being  physic- 
ally strong,  however,  and  finding  that  the  habits  and  duties  of  this 
life  were  uncongenial  to.  him,  he  returned  to  his  home  after  a  period 
of  about  one  year.  He  afterwards  began  a  course  of  study  in  the  Hy- 
annis  Academy,  his  apparent  purpose  being  to  qualify  himself  as  a 
teacher.  With  this  object  in  view,  he  continued  his  studies,  teaching 
from  time  to  time  as  occasion  offered.  During  this  period,  through 
the  influence  and  advice  of  his  teachers,  he  became  greatly  interested 
in  the  languages  and  mathematics,  and  naturally  conceived  the  desire 
for  a  college  course.  Having  fitted  himself  for  this  he  entered  Yale 
College,  where  he  graduated  in  1842.  He  then  studied  law  at  Cam- 
bridge, was  admitted  to  the  Suffolk  bar  in  1844,  and  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Boston,  where  his  wide  acquaintance  with 
the  people  of  and  from  Cape  Cod  became  a  pleasure  and  a  source  of 
profit  to  him. 

By  1857  he  had  won  an  unquestionable  position  at  the  bar.  On 
June  30th  of  that  year  he  married  Nannie  B.,  daughter  of  Charles  B. 
Tobey,  of  Nantucket,  and  became  a  resident  of  Dorchester,  still  con- 
tinuing his  business  relations  with  Boston.  Four  years  later  the  people 
of  Dorchester  expressed  their  appreciation  of  their  adopted  citizen  by 
giving  him  a  seat  in  the  Massachusetts  legislature,  where  he  faith- 
fully served  the  district  and  the  Commonwealth  three  consecutive 
years.  In  1864  he  was  a  member  of  the  national  convention  which 
renominated  President  Lincoln.  In  1869  Governor  Claflin  promoted 
him  to  the  bench  of  the  superior  court  of  Massachusetts.  In  1872 
severe  ill  health  obliged  Judge  Scudder  to  resign  this  oCBce.  Since 
that  time  he  has  resided  a  portion  of  his  life  abroad,  and  has  now  made 
Washington  his  winter  home,  and  his  old  abode,  at  Willow  Dell,  in 
the  village  of  Marston's  Mills,  his  favorite  summer  resort. 

During  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  by  his  activity  and  up- 
rightness as  a  lawyer,  he  impressed  the  bench  and  the  bar  with  his 
keen  sensitiveness  on  questions  involving  honor,  justice  and  right. 
Like  his  brother,  Zeno,  he  believed  it  ever  the  duty  of  the  lawyer  to 
add  something  to  the  good  reputation  of  the  bar.  In  1882,  when 
Governor  Long  tendered  him  the  office  of  judge  of  the  probate  court 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  219 

for  Barnstable  county,  he  declined  the  position  for  the  same  physical 
cause  which  compelled  his  resignation  from  the  bench  of  the  superior 
court  ten  years  before;  a  cause  so  cruel  and  relentless  that  it  has  al- 
lowed no  respite  from  that  day  to  the  present  moment — a  misfortune 
which,  although  blighting  the  fairest  prospects,  has  not  disturbed  the 
genial  spirit  of  the  man;  and  which  it  is  but  justice  to  Judge  Scudder 
to  say  he  has  borne  with  the  greatest  fortitude  and  patience. 

Frederick  C,  Swift  was  born  in  Yarmouth,  December  13,  1855.  He 
graduated  in  the  Yarmouth  high  school,  read  law  for  three  years  in 
the  office  of  Judge  Joseph  M.  Day,  and  was  for  two  years  in  the  law 
school  of  Boston  University.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Barnstable 
county  bar  in  October,  1880,  and  opened  an  office  in  Yarmouth  Port. 
In  1889  he  formed  a  connection  with  the  law  firm  of  Blackmar&  Shel- 
don, 246  Washington  street,  Boston,  reserving  one  day  in  the  week 
for  Yarmouth  clients.  In  1880  and  1881,  in  the  absence  of  his  father, 
C.  F.  Swift,  in  the  legislature,  he  was  in  the  editorial  charge  of  the 
Yarmouth  Register.  In  1883  he  was  elected  a  commissioner  of  insolv- 
ency for  Barnstable  county,  and  was  twice  re-elected.  He  is  also  a 
director  of  Barnstable  County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company,  sec- 
retary of  the  agricultural  society  and  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  Yarmouth  library. 

Ebenezer  Stowell  Whittemore,  a  member  of  the  Barnstable  county 
bar,  from  Sandwich,  was  born  at  Rindge,  N.  H.,  September  4,  1828. 
While  a  child,  his  father,  with  his  family,  removed  to  Illinois.  At 
Elgin  and  Kalamazoo,  he  prepared  for  admission  to  the  University  of 
Michigan.  After  leaving  the  university,  he  entered  the  Dane  Law 
School,  at  Cambridge,  where  he  took  the  degree  of  LL.B.  in  1855,  after 
which  he  entered  the  office  of  C.  G.  Thomas  of  Boston,  with  whom  he 
studied  two  years.  On  October  7,  1857,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Suffolk  county,  on  motion  of  Rufus  Choate,  and  July  19, 1858,  he  opened 
an  office  in  Sandwich,  where  he  now  (1889)  resides.  For  fifteen  years, 
also,  he  had  an  office  in  Boston.  He  has  held  the  important  position 
of  trial  justice  of  the  county  of  Barnstable  for  thirty  years.  He  has 
also  held  the  office  of  county  commissioner  for  nine  years.  In  1863 
he  was  nominated  for  representative  by  the  republicans  of  the  dis- 
trict, but  declined.  Governor  Andrew  appointed  him  in  1862  com- 
missioner to  superintend  drafting  for  the  county  of  Barnstable.  Mr. 
Whittemore  has  always  identified  himself  with  the  educational  and 
social  features  of  his  adopted  home.  He  is  an  active  and  welcome 
addition  to  our  Cape  Cod  Historical  Society,  of  which  he  is  the  vice- 
president,  and  has  contributed  to  its  proceedings  several  valuable 
papers.  He  has  written  and  delivered  numerous  lectures  and  essays 
for  literary  .societies,  and  has  often  been  called  upon  to  preside  over 
social,  business  and  literary  gatherings,  where  his  urbanity  and  knowl- 


220  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

edge  of  the  proceedings  governing  public  bodies  have  been  of  great 
advantage  and  importance. 

The  Law  Library  Association. — Under  the  statute  providing 
that  the  attorneys  of  any  county  in  the  Commonwealth  may  organize 
as  a  law  library  association,  such  a  step  was  taken  by  the  Barnstable 
county  lawyers  early  in  1889,  and  their  by-laws  were  approved  at 
Barnstable  by  Judge  Sherman  at  the  April  term  of  the  superior 
court.  Prior  to  that  time  the  library  consisted  only  of  the  Massachu- 
setts reports  and  documents,  but  in  July,  1889,  Hon.  Henry  A.  Scud- 
der  presented  to  the  association  his  valuable  private  law  library, 
which  is  the  nucleus  of  a  collection  to  be  gathered,  which  will  be  a 
credit  to  the  bar  and  the  county.  The  officers  of  the  association  are  : 
Freeman  H.  Lothrop,  librarian;  James  H.  Hopkins,  treasurer ;  and 
T.  C.  Day,  clerk. 

District  Courts. — In  March,  1890,  an  act  of  the  legislature  abol- 
ished the  trial  justice  courts  in  the  county  of  Barnstable  and  estab- 
lished two  district  courts.  The  first  district  court  of  Barnstable  has 
jurisdiction  in  the  towns  of  Barnstable,  Yarmouth,  Mashpee,  Sand- 
wich, Bourne,  and  Falmouth,  of  all  civil  cases  wherein  the  damages 
claimed  do  not  exceed  three  hundred  dollars,  and  of  all  criminal 
offences  not  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the  State's  Prison.  The 
second  district  court  of  Barnstable  has  jurisdiction  over  like  actions 
and  offences  in  the  towns  ot  Dennis,  Harwich,  Orleans,  Chatham, 
Brewster,  Eastham,  Wellfleet,  Truro,  and  Provincetown.  The  first 
district  court  holds  a  daily  session  once  a  week  at  Bourne,  and  at  other 
times  at  Barnstable.  The  second  district  court  sits  daily  once  a  week 
at  Harwich,  and  at  other  times  at  Provincetown. 

Each  court  has  a  presiding  justice  receiving  an  annual  salary  of 
$1,000,  and  two  special  justices.  The  justices  hold  office  during  good 
behavior.  The  first  sessions  of  the  new  courts  were  held  on  the  first 
Monday  of  May,  1890.  Governor  Brackett  appointed  Wm.  P.  Rey- 
nolds of  Hyannis,  and  James  H.  Hopkins  of  Provincetown,  justices  of 
the  two  courts  respectively. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION. 


By  Georgk  N.  Munsell,  M.D.,  of  Harwich. 


Introduction. — Barnstable  District  Medical  Society. — Sketches  of  Physicians  Past  and 
Present. — Medical  Examiners. 


THE  history  of  the  medical  profession  of  Barnstable  county  now 
covers  a  period  of  nearly  two  centuries,  and  the  space  allotted 
us,  will  not  permit  of  long  biographical  sketches,  but  rather 
of  dates  and  locations,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  obtain  them. 
The  members  of  the  medical  profession  have  been  composed  largely 
of  prominent  men,  not  only  noted  for  their  skill  as  physicians,  but 
oftentimes  coming  to  the  front  and  taking  an  active  part  in  the  pub- 
lic afifairs  of  the  town,  county  and  state.  Many  of  them  have  been 
'men  of  sterling  worth,  whose  discretion  and  wisdom,  combined  with 
an  extensive  knowledge  of  human  nature,  have  rendered  them  im- 
portant factors  in  the  great  progressive  questions  of  the  day.  Some 
of  these  we  refer  to  in  this  chapter,  while  many  others  we  are  obliged 
to  notice,  only  in  brief,  from  the  unfortunate  fact  that  we  have  been 
unable  to  obtain  the  necessary  information,  and  while  we  present  to 
the  reader  a  long  list  of  honored  names  of  those  who  have,  during  the 
past  two  hundred  years,  graced  the  medical  profession,  yet  we  feel 
that  we  have  been  obliged  to  leave  unmentioned  many  a  hero  in  the 
great  arena  of  practical  medicine,  whose  mission  through  life  may 
have  brought  joy  and  comfort  to  many  a  suffering  one,  and  though 
his  name  may  not  be  written  in  the  annals  of  the  past,  yet  an  honored 
record  may  be  his,  in  the  fact,  that  be  blessed  humanity. 

The  present  membership  of  the  Barnstable  District  Medical  So- 
ciety numbers  twenty.  In  alphabetical  order  with  the  place  of  resi- 
dence and  year  of  admission  the  list  stands  thus:  William  S.  Birge, 
Provincetown,  1883;  Charles  H.  Call,  Brockton,  1886;  Thomas  R. 
Clement,  Osterville,  1874;  Samuel  T.  Davis,  Orleans,  1880:  George  W. 
Doane,  Hyannis,  1846;  Robert  H.  Faunce,  Sandwich,  1884;    Benjamin 

D.  Gifford,  Chatham,  1869;  David  R.  Ginn,  Dennis  Port,  1878;  Edward 

E.  Hawes,  Hyannis,  1887;  Chauncey  M.  Hulbert,  South  Dennis,  1854; 


222  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

George  W.  Kelley.  Barnstable,  1884;  Horatio  S.  Kelley,  jr.,  Dennis 
Port,  1884;  George  N.  Munsell,  Harvich,  1860;  Adin  H.  Newton, 
Provincetown,  1874;  Franklin  W.  Pierce,  Marston's  Mills,  1880;  Peter 
Pineo,  Boston,  1850;  Samuel  Pitcher,  Hyannis,  1881;  John  E.  Pratt, 
Sandwich,  1880;  Frank  A.  Rogers,  Brewster,  1883;  William  N.  Stone. 
Wellfleet,  1869. 

Dr.  Samuel  Adams  was  a  physician  of  Truro  before  the  revolution- 
ary war.  He  was  born  in  Killingly,  Conn.,  in  1745,  studied  medicine 
under  Dr.  Nathaniel  Freeman  of  Sandwich,  and  went  to  Truro,  where 
in  1774,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  committee  of  correspondence. 
He  was  an  ardent  patriot,  and  when  the  conflict  began  he  entered 
the  service  as  a  surgeon,  serving  through  the  war  with  distinction. 
Upon  leaving  service,  he  settled  in  Ipswich,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  until  1798,  when,  marrying  Abigail  Dcdge, 
he  removed  to  Bath,  Me.,  where  he  continued  to  practice  until  his 
death  in  1819.  Doctor  Adams  was  a  man  of  ability,  and  was  highly 
respected  in  the  communities  where  he  successively  resided.  That 
he  was  twice  married  is  certain.  His  first  wife,  Abigail,  died  July  8, 
1774,  in  her  24th  year,  at  Truro,  where  a  stone  marks  her  resting 
place,  and  that  of  her  infant  child,  who  died  July  31,  1774,  aged  four 
weeks.  Dr.  Adams  had  several  children.  His  son,  Rev.  Charles  S. 
Adams,  was  once  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  in  Harwich. 

George  Atwood  practiced  at  Marston's  Mills  for  two  years  prior  to 
1850,  when  he  removed  to  Fair  Haven. 

Dr.  Josiah  Baker  was  a  native  of  Tolland,  Conn.,  and  practiced 
medicine  in  South  Dennis,  where  he  died  December  7,  1810,  aged 
31  years. 

Dr.  Isaac  Bangs,  born  in  that  part  of  Harwich  now  Brewster,  De- 
cember 11,  1752,  a  son  of  Benjamin  and  Desire  Bangs,  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1771  and  studied  medicine.  He  entered  the  revo- 
lutionary army  as  lieutenant  in  Captain  Benjamin  Godfrey's  com- 
pany in  1776,  and  afterward  was  a  lieutenant  in  Captain  Jacob  Allen's 
company  in  Colonel  John  Bailey's  regiment,  in  service  at  New 
York.  In  1779,  he  was  doctor's  mate  on  board  the  frigate  Boston, 
Samuel  Tucker,  commander.  He  died  September  12,  1780,  in  Vir- 
ginia. He  left  some  account  of  his  service  in  the  first  years  of 
the  revolutionary  war  in  manuscript. 

Dr.  Jonathan  Bangs  was  an  early  physician  of  Harwich,  resid- 
ing in  that  part  of  the  town  now  Brewster.  He  was  son  of  Cap- 
tain Edward  Bangs  of  Harwich,  and  was  born  in  1706.  He  was  in 
practice  in  the  towii  as  early  as  1731.  He  died  December  7, 1745,  after 
three  weeks'  sickness,  aged  39  years.  He  married  widow  Phebe 
Bangs,  January,  4,  1732-3,  and  left  one  son,  Allen. 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  223 

J.  W.  Battershall,  M.D.,  was  a  graduate  from  the  College  of  Phy- 
sicians and  Surgeons  in  New  York  city  in  1874.  He  was  for  three 
years  surgeon  in  the  British  emigration  service  between  London  and 
Australia.  He  located  at  Yarmouth  Port  in  1870  and  practiced  medi- 
cine there  two  years,  when  he  removed  from  the  Cape. 

William  S.  Birge,  M.D.,  born  in  1857  at  Cooperstown,  N.  Y.,  is  a 
son  of  D.  L.  and  Amey  (Spafford)  Birge.  He  took  a  two  years'  academ- 
ic course  at  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  then  studied 
medicine  at  the  Long  Island  College  Hospital,  Brooklyn;  at  the  medic- 
al department  of  Syracuse  University  and  at  the  medical  department 
of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  where  he  was  graduated 
in  1881.  He  practiced  in  Truro  two  years  then  came  to  Provincetown. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  and  medical 
•examiner  for  this  district.  For  a  time  he  was  acting  assistant  surgeon 
in  the  United  States  marine  service.  He  married  Ella  F.,  daughter 
•of  Zemira  Kenrick. 

Albert  F.  Blaisdell.  M.D.,  was  born  in  Haverhill,  Mass.,  about  1847. 
He  graduated  from  Dartmouth  in  1869  in  the  class  with  Judge  Har- 
riman.  He  studied  medicine  at  Harvard,  and  is  now  located  at  Provi- 
dence, R.  L  He  was  at  one  time  teacher  at  Chatham  and  afterward 
taught  school  and  practiced  medicine  in  Provincetown  before  his  re- 
moval from  the  Cape.  He  is  author  of  several  school  text  books  and 
is  now  largely  interested  in  educational  work. 

Dr.  Benjamin  Bourne,  son  of  Timothy  and  Elizabeth  Bourne,  was 
born  January  25,  1744,  graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  1764,  and 
married  Hannah  Bodfish.  He  had  a  large  family,  and  left  to  them  a 
large  property.     He  was  among  the  early  practitioners  of  Sandwich. 

Dr.  Richard  Bourne  was  a  physician  at  Barnstable.  He  was  born 
in  that  town  November  1,  1739,  and  was  a  son  of  Colonel  Sylvanus 
Bourne.  He  was  well  educated,  but  can  claim  no  notice  as  a  physi- 
•cian  of  importance.  He  will  be  remembered  as  the  first  postmaster 
at  Barnstable.  He  died  April  2.5, 1826,  aged  86  years.  The  late  Amos 
Otis,  in  his  genealogical  notes,  has  given  an  interesting  and  amus- 
ing account  of  him. 

Dr.  Eleazer  C.  Bowen  resided  in  Marston's  Mills  from  1857 to  1860, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  John  E.  Bruce  from  1860  to  1862. 

Dr.  Nathaniel  Breed  was  a  physician  of  Eastham,  residing  in  that 
part  now  Orleans.     He  married  Anna,  daughter  of  Thomas  Knowles. 

C.  H.  Call,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Warner,  N.  H.,  October  15,  1858, 
graduated  from  Harvard  Medical  College  in  1881,  and  commenced  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  Lowell,  where  he  remained  from  June  to  Au- 
gust, 1881.  From  Lowell  he  went  to  Vermillion,  South  Dakota, 
where  he  resided  until  February,  1885,  when  he  removed  to  South 
Yarmouth. 


224  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Dr.  Elijah  W.  Carpenter  was  a  successful  physician  of  Chatham. 
He  was  born  in  Upton,  Mass.,  January  31, 1814.  He  studied  medicine 
at  Boston  under  Dr.  Perry,  and  came  to  Chatham  about  1838,  and 
settled.  He  married  Mary  H.,  daughter  of  Joshua  Nickerson,  Esq., 
and  had  four  children.  He  removed  from  Chatham  to  Brooklyn,  N. 
Y.,  and  died  there  September  1,  1881,  aged  67  years. 

Dr.  Chamberlain  practiced  medicine  in  West  Barnstable  about 
1840,  and  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  ApoUos  Pratt  for  a  few  years. 

Thomas  R.  Clement,  M.D.,  was  born  March  19,  1823,  in  Landaflf, 
Grafton  county,  N.  H.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  town  and  at  Tyler's  Academy,  in  Franklin,  N. 
H.  He  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Mark  R.  Woodbury,  finish- 
ing with  Dr.  S.  G.  Dearborn,  of  Nashua,  N.  H.  Graduating  from 
the  medical  department  of  Burlington  University  (Vermont)  in 
1863,  he  began  his  medical  practice  in  Mason,  N.  H.  He  was 
assistant  surgeon  in  the  Tenth  New  Hampshire  regiment  and 
held  other  government  appointments  until  1868.  He  practiced  at 
En6eld,  N.  H.,  and  in  1872  came  to  Centreville,  two  years  later  re- 
moving to  the  adjoining  village  of  Osterville,  where  he  has  merited 
and  secured  a  fair  practice. 

Dr.  Daniel  P.  CliflEord  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Clifford  of  Enfield,  Mass., 
and  for  nearly  fifty  years  practiced  medicine  in  Barnstable  county. 
His  wife  was  Betsy  Emery.  The  doctor  has  descendants  living  in 
several  of  the  Cape  towns.  Benjamin  F.  Clifford  of  New  York,  and 
Samuel  D.  Clifford  of  Chatham  Port,  are  his  sons.  Mrs.  George  W. 
Nickerson,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Judge  Harriman  is  Doctor  Clifford's 
daughter.  The  doctor  died  at  Chatham,  September  23,  1863,  aged  77 
years.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  literary  ability,  and  held  a  con- 
spicuous place  among  the  physicians  of  his  time. 

Dr.  Aaron  Cornish  was  born  in  Plymouth,  Mass.,  in  1794,  practiced 
medicine  in  Falmouth  from  1820  tp  1854,  and  died  in  New  Bedford, 
April  7,  1864. 

Dr.  Samuel  T.  Davis,  born  August  4,  1856,  at  Edgartown,  Mass.,  is 
a  son  of  Samuel  N.  and  Adaline  N.  Davis.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
left  the  public  schools  and  attended  Mitchell's  Family  School  for  Boys 
two  years.  He  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  in  1875,  with  Dr. 
Winthrop  Butler,  of  Vineyard  Haven,  Mass.,  taking  two  winter  cours- 
es (1875-6  and  1876-7)  in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons, 
New  York  city,  graduating  in  February,  1878,  from  Bellevue  Hospital 
Medical  College.  From  December,  1877,  to  June,  1879,  he  was  assist- 
ant house  physician  and  house  surgeon  in  Seamans'  Relief  Hospital. 
He  was  acting  assistant  to  the  Northwestern  Dispensary  for  five 
months,  and  in  July,  1879,  came  to  Orleans,  where  he  is  still  practic- 
ing. He  is  a  member  of  the  state  medical  society  and  was  elected 
president  of  the  Barnstable  district  society  in  May,  1889. 


E.    aiER9TADT,    N. 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  225 

Dr.  John  Davis  was  a  physician  in  Eastham,  now  Orleans,  after 
the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war.  He  was  born  in  Barnstable,  Oc- 
tober 7,  1745,  and  was  a  son  of  Daniel  Davis.  He  united  with  the 
South  church  in  Eastham,  June  15,  1783.  He  removed  to  Barnstable, 
and  was  appointed  judge  of  probate  in  1800.  By  his  wife,  Mercy, 
among  other  children  he  had  Job  C,  John,  Robert,  and  Nathaniel.  He 
died  at  Barnstable,  May  27,  1825,  aged  80  years. 

George  W.  Doane,  M.D.,  the  well  known  citizen  and  physician  of 
Hyannis,  is  the  eighth  in  lineal  descent  from  Deacon  John  Doane,  who 
came  to  Plymouth  soon  after  its  settlement  in  one  of  the  two  ships 
that  followed  the  Mayflower.  In  1633  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  assist- 
ants of  the  governor,  and  in  1636,  with  others,  was  joined  with  the 
governor  and  assistants  as  a  committee  to  revise  the  laws  and  consti- 
tutions of  the  plantation.  In  1642  he  was  again  chosen  assistant  to 
Governor  Winslow,  and  became  a  deacon  of  the  Plymouth  church  be- 
fore his  removal  to  Nauset  or  Eastham  in  1644.  He  was  forty-nine 
years  old  when  he  arrived  at  Eastham  and  lived  sixty  years  after, 
a  prominent  and  useful  citizen  of  the  plantation.  The  spot  where 
his  house  stood  near  the  water,  is  still  pointed  out. 

Deacon  Doane's  son,  John  Doane,  jr.,  was  appointed  in  1663,  by  the 
court,  a  receiver  of  the  excise  or  duty  on  the  fisheries  of  Cape  Cod. 
He  married  Hannah  Bangs,  and  was  the  father  of  Samuel,  who  had 
three  sons,  of  whom  the  youngest  was  Deacon  Simeon  Doane.  Of  the 
four  sons  of  Simeon  the  eldest  also  earned  the  name  of  deacon  and 
was  Deacon  John  Doane  of  the  last  century.  The  oldest  son  of  this 
younger  Deacon  John  was  Timothy,  who  was  born  in  1762  in  Orleans, 
where  he  was  .subsequently  a  banker,  bearing  the  sobriquet  of  King 
Doane.  His  son,  Timothy,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  bom 
in  1789,  was  also  a  native  of  Orleans,  where  he  learned  the  carpenter's 
trade.  In  the  year  1816  he  went  to  the  Penobscot  river,  near  Bangor, 
Me.,  and  during  the  winter  following  he  built  a  vessel,  courted  his 
wife,  married  her,  loaded  the  vessel  with  lumber,  and  in  the  spring  re- 
turned to  Orleans.  He  called  the  vessel  Six  Sisters,  that  being  the 
number  of  sisters  he  then  had. 

Of  such  parentage  is  Dr.  George  W.  Doane,  who  at  the  age  of 
fourteen,  after  several  years  at  Orleans  Academy,  went  to  the  Brew- 
ster High  School  one  year,  and  in  1842  graduated  from  the  Wesleyan 
Academy,  at  Wilbraham,  Mass.  In  1844  he  graduated  from  the  Har- 
vard Medical  School,  just  before  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  at  once 
began  practice  in  the  flourishing  village  of  Hyannis,  where  he  has 
since  been  one  of  its  leading  business  men  and  where  in  forty-five 
years  he  has  become  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  experienced  phy- 
sicians on  the  Cape.  In  1846  he  became  a  member  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Medical  Society,  also  that  of  Barnstable  county,  of  which  he 
15 


226  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

is  an  ex-president  and  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  honored  members. 
Since  1882  he  has  been  a  medical  examiner  for  the  pension  bureau  and 
has  long  been  marine  hospital  physician.  The  many  duties  of  Doctor 
Doane  forbid  his  filling  any  office  which  would  demand  much  of  his 
time,  yet  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  town  school  board  for  many 
years  and  is  active  and  prominent  in  the  republican  party,  taking  a 
deep  interest  in  the  body  politic. 

He  is  devotedly  attached  to  the  social  side  of  life  and  loves  his  own 
pleasant  home.  He  married  in  February,  1848,  Caroline  L.  Chipman 
of  Barnstable,  who  died  January  27,  1866,  leaving  one  daughter.  Miss 
Hattie  S.  Doane,  who  is  at  the  homestead  with  her  father.  May  23, 
1868,  Doctor  Doane  married  Mrs.  Susan  P.  Allen  of  Lowell,  the  widow 
of  Doctor  Allen,  son  of  the  missionary  Rev.  Dr.  D.  O.  Allen.  Her 
death  occurred  in  Hyannis,  May  20,  1889.  Doctor  Doane  has  been 
associated  for  forty-five  years  with  the  citizens  of  his  town,  and  the 
county,  in  all  the  relations  of  an  active  life.  As  a  physician  he  has 
been  very  successful  in  practice  and  is  highly  esteemed  by  the  fra- 
ternity. His  years  of  extensive  experience  and  close  reading  have 
rendered  his  advice  of  great  value  to  his  medical  brethren  in  cases 
requiring  careful  diagnosis;  and  his  attendance  is  sought  in  con- 
sultation in  his  own  and  neighboring  towns. 

Dr.  David  Doane,  an  early  physician  of  Eastham,  Mass.,  was  a 
son  of  John  and  Hannah  Doane.  He  married  Dorathy  Horton, 
September  30,  1701,  and  had  sons  Jonathan,  John,  Nathan,  Eleazar 
Enoch,  Joshua  and  David.  He  died  November  18,  1748,  and  lies 
buried  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Eastham. 

Franklin  Dodge,  M.D.,  was  born  in  WestGroton,  Mass.,  September 
9,  1809,  and  died  in  Harwich,  July  8,  1872.  He  prepared  for  college 
at  the  Leicester  and  Lawrence  academies,  and  graduated  at  Amherst 
College  in  1834,  and  from  Dartmouth  Medical  College  in  1837.  He 
first  practiced  medicine  in  Boston,  and  came  to  Harwich  in  1838,  where 
he  continued  in  practice  to  within  a  few  months  of  his  death.  His 
daughter,  Susan  C,  was  married  to  Obed  Brooks  of  Harwich,  Decem- 
ber 27,  1864.  His  eldest  daughter,  Georgianna,  married  Lewis  F. 
Smith  of  Chatham,  October  1,  1865. 

Dr.  Hugh  George  Donaldson,  once  a  prominent  physician  of  Fal- 
mouth, was  born  in  London,  June  21,  1757,  and  came  to  Cape  Cod 
when  19  years  of  age.  At  Falmouth  he  taught  school,  pursuing 
his  professional  studies  at  the  same  time  with  Dr.  Weeks.  At  the 
time  of  a  great  small  pox  excitement  he  became  convinced  of  the  truth 
of  Doctor  Jenner's  theory  of  vaccination  and  sent  to  London  to  that 
medical  benefactor  for  vaccine  virus  and  was  the  first  to  introduce  it 
into  practice  here.  To  prove  the  efficacy  of  the  treatment  to  those 
who  were  incredulous  and  prejudiced,  he  placed  members  of  his  own 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  227 

family  in  the  small  pox  hospital  after  vaccinating  them.  He  was  much 
interested  in  the  galvanic  battery,  then  little  used.  He  made  one  and 
experimented  largely  with  it  in  his  efforts  to  obtain  knowledge  of  the 
wonderful  power  of  electricity  over  disease.  He  died  in  1814,  of  a 
malignant  fever  which  prevailed  in  Falmouth  at  that  time. 

Dr.  John  Duncan  was  an  early  physician  in  Harwich.  He  removed 
to  Boston  before  1737,  and  died  before  1756.  He  married  Kesiah 
Baker  of  Eastham. 

Erastus  Emery,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Chatham,  August  7,  1840,  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Chatham,  and 
studied  medicine  with  Dr.  M.  E.Simmons  of  Chatham.  He  graduated 
from  Harvard  Medical  College  in  1869,  practiced  medicine  in  Truro, 
Mass.,  for  nine  years,  and  died  in  Chatham,  at  the  residence  of  his 
father  John  Emery,  the  16th  of  January,  1878. 

Dr.  R.  H.  Faunce,  born  in  1859,  is  a  son  of  Joshua  T.  Faunce.  He 
graduated  in  June,  1882,  from  Harvard  Medical  College,  and  was  sur- 
gical house  officer  in  the  Free  Hospital  for  Women,  at  Boston,  for  a 
year,  when  he  began  practice  in  Sandwich. 

Rev.  Benjamin  Fessenden,  son  of  Nicholas  and  Mary  (or  Margaret) 
Fessenden  was  born  January  30,  1701,  graduated  from  Harvard  Col- 
lege in  1718,  was  ordained  September  12,  1722,  and  was  the  first  per- 
son known  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Sandwich.  He  died  August 
7,  1746. 

Dr.  William  Fessenden  was  born  in  Sandwich,  September  25,1732, 
and  settled  as  physician  in  that  part  of  Harwich  now  Brewster  before 
1759.  He  married  Mehitable  Freeman  of  Harwich,  Februar>-24, 1756, 
had  nine  children,  and  died  November  5,  1802. 

Dr.  William  Fessenden,  son  of  Doctor  William,  was  born  in  Har- 
wich, now  Brewster,  and  married  Pede  Freeman  in  1807.  He  had  five 
children.  He  died  at  Brewster,  June  17, 1816.  She  died  December  9, 
1812. 

Dr.  Oliver  Ford  first  practiced  medicine  at  Marston's  Mills,  and 
moved  to  Hyannis  in  1832,  where  he  resided  the  remainder  of  his  life, 
in  active  practice. 

Dr."  Nathaniel  Freeman,  an  eminent  physician  of  Sandwich,  was  a 
son  of  Edmund  Freeman  who  married  Martha  Otis,  and  was  bom  in 
North  Dennis,  March  28,  1741-2,  where  his  father  was  engaged  in 
school  teaching.  Removing  to  Mansfield,  Conn.,  with  his  father's 
family,  he  completed  his  course  of  medical  studies  with  Doctor  Cobb, 
of  Thompson,  and  returned  to  his  father's  native  town,  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  medicine,  where  he  attained  to  distinction  as 
a  physician  and  surgeon.  Dr.  Freeman  was  a  distinguished  patriot, 
a-nd  leader  of  the  patriots  in  the  county  during  the  revolutionary  pe- 
riod.    He  died  at  Sandwich,  September  20, 1827.    He  was  three  times 


HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

married  and  was  the  father  of  twenty  children,  one  of  whom  was  Rev. 
Frederick  Freeman,  the  historian. 

Dr.  Matthew  Fuller,  the  first  regular  physician  in  Barnstable, 
came  to-  this  country  about  1640.  His  parents  came  in  1620,  in  the 
Mayflower,  leaving  him  in  care  of  friends.  He  never  saw  them 
afterward  as  they  died  soon  after  their  arrival  at  Plymouth.  Doctor 
Fuller  was  a  man  of  prominence  in  the  colony.  He  was  surgeon  gen- 
eral of  the  Plymouth  forces  before  and  after  Philip's  war,  and  was 
captain  in  the  war.  He  died  at  Barnstable,  in  1678.  He  left  children. 
His  wife  was  named  Frances  and  probably  came  with  him  to  this 
country.     Doctor  Fuller  resided  at  West  Barnstable. 

Dr.  John  Fuller,  son  of  Dr.  Matthew,  settled  near  his  father's  place 
at  Scorton  Neck.  He  was  twice  married,  and  he  had  three  children, 
one  son  and  two  daughters.     He  died  in  1691. 

Charles  F.  George,  M.D.,  came  to  Centreville  and  practiced  medi- 
cine from  1865  to  1872.  He  then  removed  to  Goflfstown,  N.  H.,  where 
he  now  resides. 

Dr.  Benjamin  D.  Gifford,  born  November  19,  1841,  at  Province- 
town,  is  a  son  of  Simeon  S.  and  Marinda  A.  (Dods)  Giflford.  He  at- 
tended Westbrook  Seminary,  Maine,  and  Englewood  school.  New 
Jersey,  graduating  from  the  classical  department  of  Madison  Univer- 
sity, New  York,  in  1864  and  from  Albany  Medical  College  two  years 
later.  He  practiced  in  Fond-du-lac,  Wis.,  two  years,  in  Gloucester, 
Mass.,  two  years  and  in  1871  came  to  Chatham,  where  he  has  since 
practiced. 

David  R.  Ginn,  M.D. — The  first  of  this  name  who  came  to  the 
continent  from  England  was  Edward  K.  Ghen.  He  settled  in  Mary- 
land last  century,  rearing  three  sons,  one  of  whom  remained  in 
Maryland,  one  removed  to  Provincetown  and  one  to  Maine,  where  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  May  1,  1844,  at  Vinalhaven,  From 
the  age  of  eight  he  was  more  or  less  on  the  sea  until  1865.  When 
nineteen  years  of  age  he  enlisted  in  the  Union  army  in  the  Second 
Maine  Cavalry,  Company  E,  and  after  nearly  two  years  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  navy  where  he  served  under  Farragut  in  the  capture  of 
the  forts  of  Mobile  bay.  He  was  discharged  in  1865,  returned  home, 
and  commenced  his  professional  studies.  After  a  suitable  education 
at  Oak  Grove  Seminary  he  entered  in  1869  at  Harvard,  where  he 
graduated  in  medicine  February  14, 1872.  In  November,  1873,  he  came 
from  Martha's  Vineyard  to  Dennis  Port  and  began  practice.  His 
business  success,  the  erection  of  fine  blocks  in  Dennis  Port,  are  fully 
mentioned  in  the  history  of  that  village.  In  1884  he  erected  in  Har- 
wich, near  Dennis  Port,  his  fine  residence  which,  with  his  block  of 
stores,  is  the  subject  of  an  illustration  in  the  proper  connection.  Since 
locating  here  the  doctor  has  gained  a  large  practice  in  his  own  and 


^^^yrM/^^ 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  229 

adjoining  towns,  requiring  three  horses  and  two  carriages  to  enable 
him  to  satisfy  the  calls.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Medi- 
cal society  and  of  the  Barnstable  district,  and  occupies  a  prominent 
position  in  the  profession. 

He  was  married  January  8,  1885,  to  Annie  E.  Chase,  daughter  of 
Darius  and  granddaughter  of  Job  Chase.  His  children  are:  Lucy 
Lillian,  James  Richard,  and  David  Clifton.  His  professional  duties 
forbid  the  acceptance  of  civil  trusts  but  he  finds  time  for  those  social 
enjoyments  pertaining  to  his  family,  the  Lodge  and  the  Baptist 
church.  In  his  profession,  his  business  and  his  republican  principles 
he  steadily  maintains  that  perseverance  which  has  assured  him  the 
present  measure  of  success. 

Willis  Webster  Gleason,  M.D.,  was  bom  in  Chelsea,  Mass..  May 
29,  1863,  and  graduated  from  Boston  Medical  University  in  1877.  He 
practiced  medicine  in  Gardner,  Mass.,  one  year,  and  then  moved  to 
Provincetown  continuing  in  practice  there  until  1889,  when  he  moved 
to  New  York  where  he  is  now  located.  While  a  resident  of  Province- 
town  he  was  medical  examiner  for  two  years,  and  Marine  Hospital 
surgeon  for  one  year. 

William  B.  Gooch,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Maine,  and  graduated  at 
Brunswick  Medical  College.  He  practiced  for  many  years  at  North 
Yarmouth,  Maine.  Leaving  there,  he  was  appointed  American  con- 
sul at  Aux  Cayes,  and  leaving  that  position  about  1843  he  came  to 
South  Dennis,  where  he  practiced  until  1851,  when  he  removed  to 
Lowell.  In  1853  he  went  to  California,  and  returned  to  South  Dennis 
in  1854.  In  1855  he  moved  to  Truro,  where  he  died  June  29,  1868, 
aged  72  years,  and  his  remains  were  buried  in  South  Dennis. 

Dr.  Charles  Goodspeed  was  born  in  June  1770,  and  practiced  medi- 
cine for  many  years  in  Hyannis  and  vicinity.  He  died  in  Sandwich 
March  29,  1848,  and  was  buried  in  Hyannis.  His  son  was  Captain 
Charles  Goodspeed  who  resided  where  the  lyanough  House  now 
stands. 

Samuel  H.  Gould,  M.D. — This  eminent  physician,  who  for  nearly 
four-score  years  practiced  successfully  in  Brewster  and  the  adjoining 
towns,  was  bom  at  Ipswich,  December  19,  1814.  His  school  days  in 
his  native  town  were  supplemented  by  a  course  of  training  in  Topsfield 
Academy  and  at  Bradford,  after  which  he  taught  with  good  success 
in  the  public  schools  of  Methuen,  Hamilton  and  Wenham.  Subse- 
quently he  turned  his  attention  to  the  science  which  was  to  become 
his  life  study  and  the  art  which  was  to  be  his  life  work.  After  study- 
ing medicine  with  Dr.  Nathan  Jones  and  Dr.  E.  N.  Kittridge  in  Lynn, 
he  graduated  from  Bowdoin  Medical  College  in  1839,  and  located  in 
Eastham  in  1840.  Remaining  a  few  years  there,  he  settled  at  Brew- 
ster in  1844,  where  he  resided  and  practiced  until  his  death,  August 


230  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

25,  1882.  Here  he  occupied  a  prominent  position  in  his  profession, 
and  in  the  social  and  civil  relations  of  life.  He  was  elected  in  1867 
to  represent  his  district  in  the  legislature,  and  was  re-elected  in  1868. 
He  served  the  town  eleven  years  as  town  clerk  and  treasurer,  and  for 
many  years  was  chairman  of  the  school  board.  Years  ago,  when 
many  of  the  savings  banks  in  the  state  closed  their  doors,  he,  being 
a  director  in  the  Harwich  Institution  of  savings,  assumed,  by  earnest 
request,  its  presidency  in  its  most  trying  time,  and  to  him  was  ac- 
credited its  escape  from  embarrassment. 

In  his  profession  he  was  a  constant  attendant  upon  the  meetings 
of  the  District  Medical  Society,  of  which  he  was  an  early  and  valued 
member ;  and  as  a  careful  practitioner  and  counselor  was  highly  es- 
teemed. These  professional  calls  were  not  the  only  blessings  he 
conferred  upon  the  sick.  His  pastor,  Rev.  Thomas  Dawes  said  of  him 
after  his  death :  He  was  a  man  who  looked  beyond  himself,  and 
thought  a  devoted  mind  and  religious  faith  essential  to  his  patients ; 
and  possessed  those  qualifications  that  secured  the  confidence  of  men. 
At  his  funeral  his  pastor  was  constrained  to  confess  the  doctor's  great 
help  to  him  in  the  sick-room.  Doctor  Atwood,  of  Fairhaven,  said : 
Doctor  Gould  presents  a  character  eminently  worthy  of  commenda- 
tion,  for  in  whatever  situation  in  life  he  was  placed  his  influence  was 
always  on  the  side  of  progression — in  action,  in  morals,  and  every 
cause  tending  to  the  elevation  of  mankind.  By  those  who  knew  him 
best  in  the  social,  daily  round  of  life,  his  individuality,  ready  sym- 
pathy and  usefulness  will  be  longest  remembered.  The  marked 
feature  of  his  character  around  which  a  halo  of  light  will  ever  clus- 
ter, was  his  loving  kindness  in  the  scenes  of  suflFering  to  which  his 
duty  as  a  physician,  neighbor  and  friend  called  him.  He  ministered 
alike  faithfully  to  the  poor  and  the  rich,  and  the  poor  who  knew  him 
well  can  best  fathom  the  depth  and  fulness  of  his  generosity.  To 
a  friend  he  was  a  never  failing  adviser  and  helper,  and  in  his 
honesty  could  endure  no  shams.  At  his  death  the  profession  lost 
a  careful  practitioner,  his  family  a  devoted  husband  and  father,  the 
community  a  valuable  citizen,  and  this  world  lost  one  of  the  world's 
true  noblemen. 

Doctor  Gould  was  a  representative  of  a  long  line  of  worthy  an- 
cestors, the  first  to  New  England  being  Zaccheus,  who  settled  near 
Salem  in  1638.  The  male  line  of  descent  from  this  first  comer, 
was  John,  Zaccheus,  John,  John,  to  Amos,  the  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  Amos  Gould  married,  in  1797,  Mary  Herrick, 
of  whose  nine  children  the  sixth  was  Dr.  Samuel  H.  Gould,  who 
married,  November  25,  1840,  Abigail  S.,  daughter  of  Moses  Foster 
of  Wenham.  Her  father  was  a  sea  captain  thirty  years  in  the  mer- 
chant service.    Of  his  seven  children  the  only  son  was  killed  by  a 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  231 

fall    from  the  mast,  and    besides    Mrs.  Gould  one    older    daughter, 
Mrs.  Harriet  Haskell,  survives. 

.  Doctor  Gould  had  three  children:  John  E.,  born  October  2,  1842, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  four  years ;  Charles  E.,  born  July  9,  1849, 
who  married  M.  Addie  Davis  of  Wenham,  and  has  one  child — Susan 
C. ;  and  George  A.  Gould,  born  February  26,  1854,  who  married 
Ellen  M.  Cook  of  Lowell,  and  who  also  has  a  daughter  named 
Abigail  M.  Gould.  The  widow  of  Doctor  Gould  occupies  the  home- 
stead at  Brewster. 

Solomon  F.  Haskins,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Prescott,  Mass.,  September 
8,  1858.  He  moved  to  Orange  when  a  small  boy  and  there  received 
his  early  education;  entered  Dartmouth  Medical  College  in  1876, 
graduating  in  1879,  and  was  one  year  in  the  University  of  Michigan 
under  special  instruction  from  Prof.  E.  S.  Dunster.  He  came  to  Yar- 
mouth in  1880,  and  remained  there  in  practice  four  years,  then  re- 
moved to  Hudson  to  engage  in  the  drug  business.  In  1888  he  removed 
to  Orange,  where  he  is  now  practicing. 

Dr.  Edward  E.  Hawes,  druggist  and  physician  at  Hyannis,  was 
bom  in  Maine,  in  1862,  and  was  educated  at  Pittsfield,  Me.,  and  at 
Bowdoin  College.  After  a  course  in  medicine  at  New  York  he  took 
his  degree  at  the  Vermont  State  University  in  1886. 

Dr.  James  Hedge  practiced  medicine  and  was  succeeded  by  Dr. 
George  Shove. 

Dr.  Abner  Hersey,  a  very  eminent  physician  and  surgeon  of  Barn- 
stable, was  bom  in  Hingham,  in  1721,  came  to  Barnstable  in  1741,  and 
commenced  the  study  of  medicine  with  his  brother  James,  whom  he 
succeeded  in  1741.  In  a  short  period  he  commanded  an  extensive 
practice  which  never  decreased  during  his  lifetime.  He  married 
Hannah  Allen  of  Barnstable,  October  3, 1743,  and  died  January  9, 1787. 
By  will.  Doctor  Hersey  gave  five  hundred  pounds,  "  for  the  encourager 
ment  and  support  of  a  professor  of  physic  and  surgery  at  the  University 
in  Cambridge,  and  a  number  of  books  for  the  library."  He  kindly  re- 
membered the  thirteen  churches  of  the  Congregational  order  in  Barn- 
stable county,  by  giving  them  the  use  and  improvement  of  the  re- 
mainder of  his  estate,  forever,  after  the  decease  of  his  wife,  and  the 
payment  of  the  legacy  to  Harvard  University.  The  late  Amos  Otis 
has  said  of  him:  "  Forgetting  his  eccentricities,  he  was  a  most  skilful 
physician,  a  man  whose  moral  character  was  unimpeached,  of  good 
sense,  sound  judgment,  a  good  neighbor  and  citizen  and  an  exem- 
plary and  pious  member  of  the  church." 

Dr.  James  Hersey  was  born  in  Hingham,  Mass.,  December  21, 1716, 
and  settled  in  Barnstable  before  1737.  He  was  twice  married  His 
first  wife  was  Lydia,  daughter  of  Colonel  Shubael  Gorham  by  whom 
he  had  a  son,  James.    His  second  wife  was  Mehitabel,  daughter  of 


232  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

John  Davis,  Esq.,  by  whom  he  had  a  son,  Ezekiel.  Doctor  Hersey 
was  a  very  skilful  physician,  and  had  an  extensive  practice  in  the 
county.    He  died  July  22,  1741. 

Dr.  Thomas  Holker  was  a  practitioner  of  note  in  Wellfleet  early 
in  the  last  century.  Nothing  is  known  of  his  history  except  that 
he  was  an  Englishman  of  learning  and  ability  who  practiced  in 
the  town  and  vicinity  and  was  much  respected.  He  was  buried 
in  the  old  burying  ground  at  the  head  of  Duck  creek  prior  to 
1765,  for  tradition  says  that  when  the  addition  to  the  church  was 
made  that  year,  it  extended  over  his  grave. 

Dr.  Nathaniel  Hopkins,  son  of  Prence  and  Patience  Hopkins,  was 
born  in  that  part  of  Harwich  now  Brewster,  January  27,  1760.  He 
studied  medicine  and  settled  in  East  Brewster.  He  was  a  physician 
of  standing  and  was  prominent  in  the  movement  to  divide  the  town 
in  1803.  He  was  the  first  clerk  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Brewster,  of 
which  he  was  one  of  the  first  members.  He  married  Ann  Armstrong 
of  Franklin,  Conn.,  in  1799,  and  had  ten  children;  eight  sons  and  two 
daughters.  Only  two  children  settled  in  Brewster.  Joseph  Hopkins, 
the  fourth  son,  settled  in  Mount  Vernon,  Me.,  where  he  died  a  few 
years  since.    Doctor  Hopkins  died  at  East  Brewster,  March  26,  1826. 

Dr.  Thomas  Hopkins,  son  of  Dr.  Nathaniel  Hopkins,  was  born  in 
Brewster,  in  1819,  and  studied  medicine  at  Philadelphia.  He  prac- 
ticed his  profession  a  short  time  in  his  native  town,  then  removed  to 
Scituate,  Mass.,  where  he  practiced  many  years;  but  failing  health 
compelled  his  return  to  his  native  town  and  giving  up  professional 
work.  He  was  somewhat  eccentric,  but  was  a  thoroughly  good  man, 
respected  and  honored.    He  died  suddenly,  November  28, 1878. 

Dr.  Zabina  Horton  settled  in  Dennis  as  a  physician  before  the 
present  century.     He  died  November  14, 1815. 

Chauncey  Munsell  Hulbert,  M.D.,  is  one  of  the  oldest  living 
practitioners  of  this  county.  He  was  born  in  East  Sheldon,  Frank- 
lin county,  Vt.,  on  the  ninth  of  November,  1818,  and  received  his  edu- 
cation at  Johnson  Academy.  His  studies  were  vigorously  prosecuted 
with  Dr.  Horace  Eaton,  governor  of  Verrriont,  and  subsequently  a 
professor  in  Middlebury  college.  He  attended  lectures  at  Pittsfield, 
Mass.,  completing  the  medical  course  at  Woodstock,  Vt.,  where  he 
graduated  in  1844.  He  commenced  practice  at  Franklin,  Vt.,  but 
after  two  years  removed  to  East  Berkshire  in  the  same  state.  In  1862 
he  came  to  South  Dennis,  where  he  has  since  practiced  his  profession 
successfully.  His  ride  has  been  extensive  and  his  long  ripe  experi- 
ence has  made  his  services  valuable.  He  is  a  member  of  the  State 
Medical  Society;  has  been  president  of  the  Barnstable  district,  and  for 
the  past  fifteen  years  its  treasurer. 

In  1846  he  married  Lovina  Paul,  who  died  in  1865.      Their  son, 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  233 

Munsell  P.,  died  September,  1851,  aged  two  years.  He  was  married 
in  1869,  to  Mrs.  Lydia  N.  Chase,  a  widow  with  two  daughters.  The 
second  wife  died  in  1885.  Her  only  surviving  daughter  married  Wil- 
lis G.  Myers,  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  with  whom  and  their  two  children 
the  doctor  continues  the  most  affectionate  relations. 

Of  him  a  brother  in  the  profession  says:  The  doctor  is  a  practical 
man  and  has  no  patience  with  subtle  theories,  but  keeps  steadily 
along  the  well-beaten  and  reliable  path  of  his  profession,  using  every 
well  established  practice.  His  penchant  for  the  practical  side  of  his 
profession  is  illustrated  at  every  meeting  of  the  district  society  where 
he  has  a  case  to  relate  concerning  his  own  treatment,  on  which  he 
solicits  the  opinion  of  his  confreres.  He  has  a  high  appreciation  of 
humor  and  wit,  and  no  one  of  the  Barnstable  society  adds  more 
piquancy  and  humor  to  the  after-dinner  sociability.  The  results  of 
his  experience  are  always  sought  by  the  younger  members  of  the  pro- 
fession, and  he  most  sympathetically  enters  into  their  hopes  and 
plans.  He  is  a  typical  physician,  full  of  zeal  for  the  success  of  his 
labors,  and  is  actuated  by  the  highest  Christian  principles. 

Dr.  Samuel  Jackson  resided  in  Barnstable. 

Dr.  Thomas  P.  Jackson  practiced  medicine  in  Harwich  and  after- 
ward at  Marston's  Mills  from  1843  to  1845.     He  died  in  Italy. 

Dr.  F.  H.  Jenkins  has  practiced  medicine  for  many  years  in  West 
Barnstable,  where  he  now  resides. 

Leslie  C.  Jewell,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Wales,  Me.,  April  20,  1852,  re- 
ceived his  academic  education  at  Bates'  College,  Lewiston,  Me.,  and 
graduated  in  medicine  at  Boston  University  in  1876.  He  then  settled 
in  Cape  Elizabeth,  Me.,  where  he  practiced  till  1881,  when  he  removed 
to  Chatham,  Mass.,  and  remained  in  active  practice  there  nearly  seven 
years.     He  is  practicing  now  at  Auburn,  Me. 

Ellis  P.  Jones,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Brewster,  January  24,  1853,  was 
educated  in  the  University  of  Vermont  and  graduated  July  16,  1889. 
He  then  located  in  Orleans,  where  he  formerly  resided,  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  medicine. 

Luther  Jones,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Acton,  Mass.,  in  1817.  He  com- 
menced the  practice  of  medicine  in  South  Yarmouth  in  1846,  where 
he  was  married  in  1847.  Later,  on  account  of  ill  health,  he  went  to 
California,  where  he  died  in  1862.  Millard  Jones,  of  Yarmouth,  is 
his  son. 

G.  W&Uace  Kelley,  M.D.,  was  born  November  7, 1856,  at  Newbury- 
port,  Mass.  His  early  education  was  in  Newburyport  High  School, 
and  June  26,  1878,  he  was  graduated  from  Harvard  Medical  School. 
He  began  practice  at  the  New  York  Hospital  in  1879,  and  located  in 
Barnstable  in  November,  1883,  where  he  now  resides  and  enjoys  a 
fine  practice. 


234  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Horatio  S.  Kelley,  jr.,  M.D.,  was  bom  July  24,  1854,  in  Dennis.  He 
is  a  son  of  Horatio  S.  and  grandson  of  Nehemiah  Kelley.  His  mother 
was  Olive,  daughter  of  Doane  Kelley.  Dr.  Kelley  was  first  educated 
in  the  schools  of  his  town,  then  entered  his  father's  store,  where  he 
remained  until  1880,  studying  medicine  in  the  meantime.  In  1880  he 
went  to  the  Boston  University  Medical  College  for  a  short  time,  in 
1882, entered  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  Boston,  and  in 
1883  went  to  University  Medical  College  of  New  York,  where  he 
graduated  in  1884,  beginning  practice  as  a  physician  at  that  time. 
Doctor  Kelley,  with  Doctor  Hulbert,  built  a  store  at  West  Dennis  in 
1886.  He  purchased  Doctor  Hulbert's  interest  in  1888,  and  still  con- 
tinues the  business. 

Dr.  Jonathan  Kenrick,  youngest  son  of  Edward  and  Deborah  Ken- 
rick,  was  bom  in  that  part  of  old  Harwich  now  South  Orleans,  No- 
vember 14, 1715.  His  father  was  a  trader,  and  the  first  of  the  name 
who  settled  in  the  town.  Doctor  Kenrick  married  Tabitha  Eldridge, 
of  Chatham.  His  career  as  a  physician  was  short.  He  died  July  20, 
1753,  and  lies  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Orleans,  where  a  slate 
stone  with  inscription  marks  the  place  of  his  sepulture.  It  is  said  he 
was  "  a  learned,  amiable  man  and  an  eminent  physician."  He  left 
three  children:  Samuel,  Anson  and  Jonathan.  His  house  stood  but  a 
few  feet  from  the  house  of  Seneca  Higgins. 

Dr.  Samuel  Kenrick,  eldest  son  of  Doctor  Jonathan,  was  bom 
in  1741,  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Nathaniel  Breed  of  Eastham,  and 
settled  upon  his  father's  place.  He  had  a  large  field  of  labor,  and 
was  a  successful  practitioner.  He  attained,  it  is  said,  a  high  eminence 
as  a  physician  in  this  section  of  the  county.  He  died  February  10, 
1791.  He  married  Esther  Mayo  of  Eastham,  and  had  seven  children. 
The  sons  were  Samuel,  Jonathan  (father  of  the  present  Alfred  Ken- 
rick, Esq.,  of  Orleans)  and  Warren  Anson,  who  studied  medicine  and 
settled  in  Wellfleet,  where  he  died  February  10,  1808,  aged  44  years. 
Dr.  Samuel  Kenrick  lies  buried  in  Orleans,  where  a  stone  with  in- 
scription marks  the  spot.  His  widow,  Esther,  died  in  January,  1827, 
aged  86  years. 

Leonard  Latter,  M.D.,  bora  in  1843,  in  Sussex,  England,  is  a  son  of 
Leonard  Latter,  and  he  passed  the  London  College  of  Pharmacy  and 
was  a  drug  clerk  in  England,  ten  years,  and  came  to  Barnstable  county 
in  1869.  He  entered  a  medical  college  in  Maine  and  after  one  term 
there,  went  to  the  Detroit  Medical  College  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1875.  After  a  short  practice  in  Michigan  and  in  Iowa,  he  returned 
to  Barnstable  county,  locating  at  Monument  Beach  in  1883,  where  he 
still  practices.  He  was  married  in  1886  to  Mrs.  Margaret  W.  Brad- 
bury. 

Doctor  Jonathan  Leonard,  an  eminent  physician  of  Sandwich,  was 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  235 

born  in  Bridgewater,  Mass.,  February  17,  1763,  and  graduated  at  Har- 
vard College  in  1786.  He  settled  in  Sandwich  about  1789.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society.  He  died  January  25, 
1849,  aged  86  years.  He  married  Temperance  Hall,  May  10, 1796,  and 
he  had  five  children. 

Jonathan  Leonard,  M.D.,*  was  the  son  of  the  above  mentioned 
Dr.  Jonathan  Leonard.  He  was  born  in  Sandwich  January  7, 1805,  was 
educated  in  the  Sandwich  Academy  and  at  Harvard.  Choosing  medi- 
cine as  a  profession  he  commenced  practice  with  his  father  in  1827, 
and  continued  in  practice  up  to  a  short  time  before  his  death,  January 
29,  1882. 

A  friend  writes  of  him  as  follows  :  "  A  brow  on  which  every  god 
did  set  his  seal  to  give  the  world  assurance  of  a  man."  For  many, 
many  years  the  most  striking  figure  in  all  our  town  was  Doctor  Leon- 
ard. Highly  educated,  the  son  of  a  famous  physician  and  himself  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  Medical  School,  he  at  once  took  a  leading  posi- 
tion in  his  native  town,  not  only  as  a  man,  but  as  a  physician  and 
surgeon.  Who  that  ever  saw  him  in  his  later  years  and  conversed 
with  him  can  forget  his  appearance  and  the  impression  he  left  behind 
— that  glorious  head  of  white  hair,  the  serene,  yet  withal,  kindly 
and  intellectual  expression  of  the  face,  the  erect  form,  the  firm  set 
mouth,  the  quick  and  penetrating  glance  of  the  eye,  all  marked  him 
as  a  man  highly  gifted  by  nature  and  of  great  intellectual  ability. 

As  a  professional  man  he  was  highly  respected  among  his  brethren, 
stood  side  by  side  and  ranked  with  the  best  among  them.  He  pos- 
sessed, in  a  large  degree,  what  ought  to  be  common,  but  which  we, 
after  all  rarely  find, — the  gift  of  common  sense,  and  used  it  success- 
fully. As  a  consequence  his  services  and  opinions  were  sought  for 
far  and  wide.  At  once  he  gained  the  confidence  of  his  patients  and 
when  gained  it  was  never  lost.  His  hand  was  soft  as  thistle  down  to 
the  throbbing  pulse  and  aching  brow.  The  writer  still  remembers 
the  touch  of  that  hand.  But  the  life  of  man  is  limited.  After  a  long 
and  successful  practice,  many  years  of  honor,  at  the  age  of  three 
score  and  seventeen  years,  as  ripe  fruit  in  autumn  falls  from  the  tree 
— he  was  quietly  gathered  to  his  fathers — and  one  day  the  town  in 
which  he  had  so  long  lived,  found  he  had  "passed  on  beyond  the 
gates."  It  can  truly  be  said  of  Doctor  Leonard  that  he  was  one  of 
"  nature's  noblemen,"  "  that  the  world  is  better  for  his  having  lived  in 
it."  He  was  deeply  interested  in  all  that  pertained  to  the  welfare  of 
his  native  town,  particularly  its  educational  interests.  In  his  religious 
views  he  was  broad  and  liberal,  and  was  always  a  liberal  contributor 
to  that  branch  of  the  Christian  church  whose  teachings  were  in  har- 
mony with  his  own  religious  thought. 

*  By  Hon.  Charles  Dillingham. 


236  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

He  was  twice  married :  first  in  1830  to  Miss  Alice  C,  daughter  of 
Samuel  H.  Babcock,  Esq.,  of  Boston  ;  second  in  1868  to  Mrs.  Mary  T. 
Jarvis,  daughter  of  C.  C.  P.  Waterman,  Esq.,  of  Sandwich,  who,  with 
the  daughter  by  the  first  marriage  and  a  son  by  the  second,  resides 
on  the  old  homestead  in  Sandwich. 

Dr.  Samuel  Lord  was  a  physician  of  Chatham.  He  was  a  son  of 
Rev.  Joseph  Lord,  and  was  born,  probably  in  South  Carolina,  June  26, 
1707,  where  his  father  was  then  settled.  He  came  to  Chatham  with 
his  father's  family  in  1719,  and  died  of  small  pox  early  in  1766. 

Lyman  H.  Luce,  M.D.,  of  Martha's  Vineyard,  practiced  medicine 
at  Falmouth  from  1869  to  1880.  He  then  removed  to  West  Tisbury, 
Mass.,  where  he  now  resides.  He  married  Lizzie,  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain John  R.  Lawrence  of  Falmouth. 

Henry  E.  McCollum,  M.D.,  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin  Medical  Col- 
lege, practiced  medicine  at  Marston's  Mills  from  1847  to  1868,  and 
subsequently  died  there. 

William  M.  Moore,  M.D.,  born  in  1848  at  Barnet,  Vt.,  is  a  son  of 
William  Moore.  He  received  a  preparatory  course  at  St.  Johnsbury 
Academy  and  graduated  July  1,  1880,  from  Burlington  Medical  Col- 
lege, Vermont.  He  practiced  in  St.  Johnsbury  and  adjoining  towns 
in  Vermont,  also  in  Carroll  county.  New  Hampshire,  from  1880  until 
1888,  and  since  October  of  that  year  has  been  located  in  Province- 
town.  He  is  a  member  of  the  White  Mountain  Medical  Society, 
and  of  the  Carroll  County  Society.  He  married  Emma  J.,  daughter 
of  George  L.  Kelley. 

George  M.  Munsell,  M.D.,*  born  December  14, 1835,  at  Burling- 
ton, is  the  only  son  of  Rev.  Joseph  R.  Munsell,  for  years  pas- 
tor of  the  Congregational  church  at  Harwich.  Doctor  Munsell's 
■earlier  education  was  received  in  Hampden  and  Belfast  Academies, 
after  which  he  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  C.  M.  Hulbert  of  South 
Dennis.  In  March,  1860,  he  graduated  from  the  medical  department 
of  Harvard  College,  and  at  once  commenced  practice  in  Bradford, 
Me.,  where  he  remained  one  year.  In  1861  he  returned  to  Harwich 
as  an  associate  of  Dr.  Fanklin  Dodge.  In  July,  1862,  he  entered 
the  army  as  first  assistant  surgeon  of  the  Thirty-fifth  Regiment  of 
the  Massachusetts  Volunteers ;  but  resigned  his  commission,  April, 
1863,  on  account  of  ill  health  and  returned  to  Harwich,  Mass.,  where 
he  has  since  actively  pursued  the  practice  of  medicine.  He  has  been 
for  eight  years  medical  examiner  of  the  county ;  as  a  member  of 
the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  he  served  one  year  as  president 
of  the  Barnstable  district  and  one  as  vice-president  of  the  state 
society ;  and  now  is  medical  director  of  the  state  department  of  the 
G.  A.  R.,  also  is  on  the  national  staff. 

*  By  the  editor. 


PBIMT, 
£.     BIEHSTADT,      K.   V. 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  237 

The  doctor  takes  a  keen  interest  in  the  social  and  civil  affairs  of 
life,  in  which  he  is  an  important  factor.  The  interests  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
have  engaged  his  attention  for  several  years,  and  four  years  he  was 
commander  of  F.  D.  Hammond  Post,  which  includes  the  towns  of  Har- 
wich, Chatham,  Eastham,  Orleans,  Brewster  and  Dennis.  In  November, 
1889,  he  was  elected  the  Republican  representative  from  the  second 
district  of  Barnstable  county.  In  June,  1860,  he  married  Lizzie  K., 
daughter  of  Miller  W.  Nickerson,  who  was  the  son  of  Eleazer  Nicker- 
son  of  South  Dennis.  Their  two  daughters  are :  Louise  H.  and  Lizzie 
T.  Munsell.  But  few  practitioners  possess  as  fully  as  Doctor  Munsell 
the  respect  and  admiration  of  patients.  His  affability,  practicability, 
and  ambition  to  excel  have  made  him  successful  in  every  walk  of  life. 

Dr.  A.  H.  Newton  was  born  in  Vermont  in  1817,  and  began  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  Truro,  Mass.,  in  1850,  where  he  remained 
until  1866,  when  he  removed  to  Chatham.  In  1876  he  went  to  Prov- 
incetown,  where  he  has  practiced  to  the  present  time. 

Dr.  E.  C.  Newton,  fifth  son  of  Dr.  A.  H.  Newton,  graduated  from 
Bellevue  New  York  Medical  College  in  1887,  practiced  two  years  in 
Province  town,  and  is  now  settled  in  Everett,  Mass. 

Dr.  F.  L.  Newton,  third  son  of  Dr.  A.  H.  Newton,  graduated  from 
Boston  University  Medical  School  in  1884,  and  practiced  in  Prov- 
incetown  for  two  years.  He  then  studied  one  year  in  Dublin  and 
Vienna  arid  settled  in  Somerville,  Mass.,  where  he  is  now  in  practice. 

Dr.  Stephen  A.  Paine,  son  of  Moses  and  Priscilla  Paine,  was  a 
successful  physician  of  Provincetown.  He  was  bom  in  Truro  in 
1806,  and  spent  the  whole  of  his  professional  life  in  Provincetown.  It 
has  been  well  said,  "but  few  men  have  been  more  useful  and  more 
trusted  than  he."  He  was  deeply  interested  in  education,  and  for 
many  years  on  the  school  board,  and  the  chairman  many  years.  He 
was  a  representative  from  Provincetown  in  1841  and  1842.  He  died 
September  3,  1869,  leaving  no  children.  He  was  an  esteemed  mem- 
ber of  King  Hiram  Lodge.  He  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Thomas 
Paine,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Truro. 

Dr.  Daniel  Parker  was  born  in  West  Barnstable  in  1735  and  died 
in  1810.  His  house  was  near  the  present  Barnstable  town  house. 
John  W.  B.  Parker,  of  West  Barnstable,  is  one  of  his  grandchildren. 

John  H.  Patterson,  M.D.,  was  born  in  South  Merrimack,  N.  H., 
March  2,  1863,  graduated  at  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Mass.,  in 
1882,  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1886,  and  Dartmouth  Medical  College 
in  1889.  He  commenced  practice  in  Harwich  in  December,  1889,  in 
place  of  Dr.  George  N.  Munsell,  who  was  elected  member  of  the  house 
of  representatives,  and  obliged  to  give  up  his  practice  for  several 
months. 


238  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Franklin  W.  Pierce,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Edgartown,  Mass.,  on  the 
nth  of  September,  1852.  Dr.  Hugh  G.  Donaldson  was  his  maternal 
great-grandfather.  He  graduated  from  Wilbraham  Academy  in  1872, 
and  from  Yale  University  in  1876.  He  graduated  from  the  University 
of  New  York  City  Medical  College  in  1879,  and  in  May  of  that  year 
commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Centreville.  Six  months  later 
he  removed  to  Marston's  Mills,  where  he  has  since  resided,  and  is 
one  of  the  medical  examiners  of  Barnstable  county.  June  14,  1884, 
lie  married  Annie  Augusta  Hale  of  Brunswick,  Me.,  and  has  one  son, 
born  November  24,  1888.     His  wife  died  April  23,  1890. 

Peter  Pineo,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Cornwallis,  Nova  Scotia,  March  6, 
1825,  studied  medicine  there  four  years,  attended  one  full  term  at 
Harvard  Medical  College,  and  subsequently  graduated  from  Bowdoin 
Medical  College  in  May,  1847.  He  first  practiced  medicine  in  Port- 
land, Me.,  and  in  Boston,  Mass.,  and  settled  in  Barnstable  in  1850,  as 
the  successor  of  Doctor  Jackson.  He  removed  to  Groton.  Mass.,  in 
18.')3,  where  he  practiced  until  1859,  when  he  accepted  the  professor- 
ship of  medical  jurisprudence  and  clinical  medicine  in  Castleton 
Medical  College,  Vermont.  In  June,  1861,  he  was  commissioned  sur- 
geon of  the  Ninth  Regiment  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  and  entered 
active  service.  In  August,  1861,  he  was  commissioned  brigade  sur- 
geon of  United  States  Volunteers,  and  served  on  the  staffs  successive- 
ly of  Generals  James  S.  Wadsworth  and  Rufus  King,  and  was  Gen- 
eral McDowell's  medical  director  during  the  second  Bull  Run  battles. 
He  also  was  serving  on  the  staff  of  General  George  G.  Meade,  as  med- 
ical director  of  the  First  Army  Corps,  at  Antietam,  and  South  Mount- 
ain, in  1862.  In  November,  1862,  he  was  ordered  to  Washington  in 
charge  of  Douglass  General  Hospital  (600  beds)  and  in  March,  1863, 
was  commissioned  as  lieutenant  colonel  and  medical  inspector  of 
United  States  Volunteers  and  ordered  to  inspect  the  Department  of 
the  Gulf,  General  Banks  commanding.  During  the  years  1863-1865, 
he  inspected  every  army  on  the  Atlantic  coast  from  Washington  to 
Texas.  He  was  consulting  surgeon  of  Jefferson  Davis  during  his  con- 
finement at  Fortress  Monroe.  In  1866  he  settled  in  Hyannisand  took 
charge  of  the  United  States  Marine  Hospital  Service  of  Barnstable 
county  until  1880,  when,  on  account  of  ill  health,  he  relinquished  the 
practice  of  medicine,  and  has  since  resided  in  Boston. 

Dr.  Samuel  Pitcher,  of  Hyannis,  the  originator  of  the  famous 
Pitcher's  Castoria,  was  born  in  Hyannis,  October  23,  1824.  His  great- 
grandfather, Joseph  Pitcher,  came  here  from  Scituate.  Doctor  Pitcher 
began  the  study  of  medicine  in  1840  with  Dr.  S.  C.  Ames  of  Lowell,  and 
during  the  half  century  since  then,  he  has  given  his  thought  and  at- 
tention to  the  study  and  practice  of  the  healing  art.  In  1847-8  he  was 
in  the  College  of  Medicine  at  Philadelphia,  and  in  the  latter  year  be- 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  239 

.  j^an  the  experiments  which  twenty  years  later  led  to  the  introduction 
of  Castoria,  from  which  in  1869  he  realized  $10,000.  He  was  at  Har- 
vard Medical  College  in  1850,  and  except  when  away  as  a  student,  has 
continuously  resided  at  Hyannis,  where  his  ability  and  worth  as  a 
■citizen  and  physician  have  long  been  recognized.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  and  a  director  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Hyannis. 

D.  L.  Powe,  M.D.,  was  born  on  Prince  Edwards  Island,  April  28, 
1853,  and  removed  to  Boston  in  1874,  after  having  received  the  edu- 
cational advantages  afiforded  by  the  graded  schools  of  his  native  place. 
In  1879  he  attended  the  first  course  of  lectures  ever  given  in  the  Maine 
Eclectic  Medical  School,  and  graduated  three  years  later.  This  school 
-subsequently  came  under  another  management  and  is  now  extinct. 
In  1883  he  located  in  Boston,  became  a  member  of  the  Eclectic  Med- 
ical Society  of  Massachusetts,  practiced  a  year  and  in  the  following 
March  came  to  Falmouth  where  in  February,  1885,  he  married  Captain 
N.  P.  Baker's  daughter,  Mary  F.  He  succeeded  Dr.  J.  P.  Bills,  who 
liad  practiced  some  five  years  in  Falmouth  and  Pocasset. 

John  E.  Pratt,  M.D.,  was  born  in  1850  in  Freeport,  Me.  He  at- 
tended the  schools  of  Meriden,  N.  H.,  took  a  classical  course  at  Dart- 
mouth, and  in  1877  graduated  from  the  Dartmouth  Medical  School. 
From  1877  to  1880  he  practiced  medicine  in  Auburn,  N.  H.  In  1880 
he  came  to  Sandwich  where  he  has  since  practised.  He  is  a  member 
•of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society.  He  was  married  in  1878  to 
Sarah  E.  Cornish,  and  has  two  daughters. 

Dr.  ApoUos  Pratt  succeeded  Doctor  Chamberlain  in  the  practice  of 
-medicine  at  South  Yarmouth,  and  died  in  1860. 

Dr.  Greenleaf  J.  Pratt  was  born  in  Mansfield,  Mass.,  in  1794,  and 
settled  as  a  physician  in  Harwich  about  1815.  He  had  an  extensive 
practice  for  many  years.  He  was  a  representative  from  Harwich  in 
1827,  and  several  years  on  the  school  committee.  He  resided  at  North 
Harwich,  where  he  died  January  13, 1858.  He  married  Ruth,  daughter 
of  Anthony  and  Reliance  Kelley,  April  2,  1818,  and  had  four  children. 

Thomas  B.  Pulsifer,  M.D.,  born  in  1842  in  Maine,  is  a  son  of  M.  R. 
Pulsifer,  M.D.  He  was  in  Waterville  College  from  1859  until  1861, 
■when  he  entered  the  army  in  the  First  Maine  Cavalry.  He  studied 
medicine  with  his  father  for  some  time,  and  finally  graduated  from 
Hahnemann  College  of  Philadelphia  in  1872.  In  1873,  he  came  to 
Yarmouth  where  he  has  practiced  since  that  time.  He  married  Anna, 
■daughter  of  Benjamin  Gorham,  and  has  two  children — Cora  R.  and 
Gorham. 

Dr.  Clinton  J.  Ricker,*  who  died  at  Chatham,  Mass.,  March  15, 
1886,  was  born  at  Great  Falls,  N.  H.,  January  29,  1847.     He  was  the 

*  By  Prof.  M.  F.  Daggett  of  Chatham. 


240  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

youngest  of  the  five  Ghildren  of  Captain  and  Mrs.  Josiah  Clarke  of 
Great  Falls.  His  mother  dying  when  he  was  but  a  few  weeks  old,  and 
his  father  wishing  to  make  a  long  journey  from  home,  the  boy  was 
received  into  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allen  Ricker,  residing  near 
Milton  Mills,  N.  H.,  who  adopted  and  reared  him  as  their  son.  Here 
he  passed  his  boyhood  days,  receiving  the  meager  advantages  of  the 
district  school  in  winter  and  developing  his  muscles  on  the  farm  in 
summer. 

His  life  was  uneventful  until  he  arrived  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
years,  when,  like  many  other  New  England  boys  in  that  time  of  our 
country's  greatest  need,  he  determined  to  enter  the  service  as  a  sol- 
dier the  consent  of  his  foster  parents  being  refused  on  account  of  his 
youthful  age,  a  compromise  was  effected  by  his  going  out  as  servant 
to  his  brother,  C.  Clarke,  a  captain  of  cavalry  in  the  regular  army,  who 
promised  to  restrain  the  boy's  youthful  impetuosity  and  protect  him 
from  all  harm.  This  promise  was,  however,  unavailing,  for  in  the 
heat  of  battle,  though  commanded  to  remain  in  the  rear,  he  forgot  his 
brother's  rank  and  authority,  and,  burning  with  military  ardor,  he 
rushed  into  the  fight  and  did  effective  service,  bringing  back  as  proofs 
of  his  contact  with  the  enemy,  wounds  received  from  a  rebel  ball  and 
sabre  stroke. 

In  1865  we  find  him  at  Milton  Classical  Institute,  studying  French, 
Latin,  and  other  branches  preparatory  to  a  college  course  ;  and  later 
at  Bowdoin  College,  Brunswick,  Maine,  from  which  he  probably  gradu- 
ated in  1871,  entering  the  Bowdoin  Medical  School  the  same  year, 
where  he  took  two  courses  of  lectures.  In  1873and  1874  he  continued 
his  medical  studies  at  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  New 
York  city,  taking  high  standing  in  a  large  class  and  graduating  in 
1874.  He  soon  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  New  Mar- 
ket, N.  H.,  and  entered  at  about  the  same  time  into  partnership  in  the 
drug  business  at  Dover.  His  efforts  in  his  chosen  occupation  seemed 
marked  with  success,  his  skill  soon  became  known,  and  his  practice 
largely  increased.  But  reverses  were  in  store  for  him.  Hard  work 
and  exposure,  incident  to  a  large  country  practice,  undermined  a  nat- 
urally strong  constitution  and  he  suffered  a  stroke  of  paralysis,  which 
prostrated  him  for  many  months,  and  from  which  he  never  fully  re- 
covered. At  the  same  time  his  business  partner  at  Dover,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  Doctor  Ricker's  enforced  absence,  purchased  a  large  stock 
of  goods  on  as  long  credit  as  possible,  and  selling  the  goods  at  a  dis- 
count for  cash,  absconded  with  the  funds  and  drove  the  firm  into- 
bankruptcy.  These  and  other  financial  losses,  together  with  his  long 
illness,  prevented  Doctor  Ricker's  return  to  practice  at  New  Market, 
and  the  winter  of  1878  he  spent  in  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  having  been 
invited  to  care,  temporarily,  for  the  business  of  Doctor  Miller. 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  241 

■  Doctor  Ricker  next  secured  the  appointment  as  assistant  port  phy- 
sician at  Boston,  and  here  he  was  recognized  as  a  skilful  physician  and 
competent  official.  This  position  he  retained  until  his  health,  which 
had  been  for  some  years  delicate,  again  broke  down,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled by  change  of  climate  and  a  voyage  at  sea  to  seek  its  restoration. 

In  the  fall  of  1880  he  came  to  Chatham,  Mass.,  where  he  continued 
in  practice  during  the  remaining  years  of  his  life,  and  where  his 
genial  manners,  sympathetic  nature,  and  earnest  efforts  in  behalf  of 
his  patients,  as  well  as  his  marked  ability  as  a  physician  and  surgeon, 
won  for  him  the  enduring  respect,  confidence,  and  esteem  of  the 
people. 

May  21,1879,  Doctor  Ricker  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Louise 
B.  Maitel,  of  Newton,  Mass.,  a  lady  of  intelligence,  refinement  and 
good  education,  a  descendant  of  a  family  once  famous  in  French  his- 
tory. This  lady,  who  survives  her  husband,  testifies  to  his  having 
possessed  the  many  excellent  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  that  make 
the  domestic  life  beautiful  and  happy. 

Through  life  he  was  a  student  in  his  devotion  to  scientific  and 
literary  pursuits,  and  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  magazines  and 
newspapers.  He  was  often  invited  to  the  lecture-platform,  and  both 
in  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  he  frequently  addressed  large 
audiences,  pronouncing  in  Chatham  in  1882  one  of  the  finest  Memo- 
rial Day  addresses  ever  delivered  in  this  section  of  the  state.  His 
keen  insight  into  abstruse  subjects,  his  comprehensive  view  of  public 
affairs,  his  just  discrimination  and  impartial  criticism,  combined  with 
brilliant  conversational  powers,  purity  of  diction  and  a  vivid  imagi- 
nation, made  Dr.  Clinton  J.  Ricker  an  interesting  private  companion 
and  eloquent  public  speaker. 

James  A.  Robinson,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Claremont,  N.  H.,  Novem- 
ber 29,  1857,  and  was  the  son  of  Willard  H.  and  Martha  J.  Robinson. 
When  six  years  of  age  he  moved  to  Brookline,  Mass.,  where  he  re- 
ceived his  early  education  and  entered  Harvard  College  in  1876.  In 
1879  he  entered  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  graduated  in  1882.  After  practicing  in  Taunton  and  ad- 
joining towns,  he  moved  to  Chatham  in  1888,  where  he  is  now  located. 

Frank  A.  Rogers,  M.D. — This  rising  young  physician,  born  at 
Newfield,  Me.,  was  educated  at  Limerick  Academy,  and  at  Kent's  Hill 
Seminary,  received  a  full  academic  course  for  Bowdoin  College,  but 
changed  his  mind  and  entered  the  medical  department,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1876.  He  practiced  nearly  a  year  at  Bethel,  Me., 
when  he  sold  his  interest  to  a  classmate  who  had  made  a  settlement 
there  about  the  same  time.  He  then  filled  the  position  of  principal 
in  Litchfield  Academy  two  years,  removing  to  Atlanta,  Ga.,  to  fill  the 
chair  .of  instructor  in  science  and  language  in  the  university  of  that 
16 


242  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

city.  After  practicing  his  profession  two  years,  in  Nebraska,  he  set 
tied  in  Brewster,  in  1882,  purchased  his  homestead  and  in  1884  opened 
a  drug  store  in  connection  with  his  practice.  During  his  term  of 
practice  at  Brewster  he  has  attained  a  prominent  position  in  the  pro- 
fession, excelling  in  surgery.  In  1883  he  joined  the  Massachusetts 
Medical  Society,  and  for  six  years  past  has  been  the  secretary  of  the 
Barnstable  district.  High  compliment  is  due  to  his  mechanical  and 
scientific  genius,  which,  combined  with  his  energy  and  perseverance 
assures  his  highest  success.  As  a  special  correspondent  of  the  signal 
service  he  has  in  use  an  electric  anemometer  recorder  of  his  own  in- 
vention and  construction,  which  more  effectually  records  the  velocity 
of  the  wind  than  any  other  in  the  service. 

Something  might  well  be  expected  of  a  man  with  the  doctor's  an- 
tecedents. His  ancestry  is  traceable  back  to  John  Rogers,  the  mar- 
tyr, who  was  burned  at  the  stake  February  14,  1555.  The  first  of  the 
family  who  came  to  the  New  World  was  Rev.  Nathaniel  Rogers,  who 
settled  at  Ipswich  in  1636,  where  he  died  in  1655.  His  son.  Rev.  John 
Rogers,  M.D.,  practiced  at  the  same  place,  departing  this  life  in  1684, 
leaving  a  son,  Rev.  John,  who  was  pastor  of  the  First  church  of  Ips- 
wich until  his  death  in  1745.  The  next  in  the  lineal  descent  was  Rev. 
Daniel  Rogers,  a  tutor  of  Harvard  College,  who  died  in  1785,  at  Exeter, 
N.  H.  His  son.  Thomas,  moved  to  Ossipee,  N.  H.,  where  John  Rog- 
ers, grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  and  subse- 
quently removed  to  Newfield,  Me.,  where  he  died  in  1866.  At  the 
latter  place  Rev.  John  A.  Rogers  was  born,  April  29, 1833,  who  in  1854 
married  Julia  A.  Nealey  of  Parsonsfield,  Me.,  and  settled  in  the  min- 
istry as  pastor  of  the  F.  W.  Baptist  church,  which  service  he  continued 
until  his  death,  February  6,  1866,  leaving  two  children — Frank  A.  and 
Addie  A.,  now  Mrs.  B.  F.  Lombard  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 

Frank  A.  Rogers,  M.D.,  was  born  October  8,  1855,  at  Newfield,  and 
was  married  November  30,  1876,  to  Lottie  A.  Bowker  of  Phipsburg, 
Me.  They  have  three  children — Amabel,  Frank  Leston,  and  Alice 
M.  The  doctor  is  an  active  republican,  interesting  himself  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  body  politic,  and  for  four  years  last  past  has  acted  on  the 
school  board  of  Brewster.  In  the  church  of  his  choice,  the  Baptist,  he 
is  superintendent  of  its  Sunday  school;  and  in  the  busy  scenes  of 
science  and  his  profession  he  finds  opportunity  for  the  enjoyment 
of  those  religious  and  social  relations  to  which  he  is  devotedly 
attached. 

Dr.  Moses  Rogers,  a  physician  of  Falmouth,  was  a  son  of  Mayo 
and  Mercy  Rogers,  of  Harwich,  where  he  was  born  in  1818.  He  set- 
tled in  Falmouth,  Mass.,  where  he  died  February  4,  1862,  aged  44. 

Dr.  Nathaniel  Ruggles  was  a  resident  physician  at  one  time  at 
Marston's  Mills. 


PKINT. 
E       BieR3T*0T,     N      Y. 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  243 

Dr.  Henry  Russell  was  born  in  Providence,  R.  I.,  June  31,  1814. 
He  studied  four  years  with  Dr.  James  B.  Forsyth,  graduated  at  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1841,  and  commenced  the  practice  of 
medicine  at  Nantucket.  Three  years  later  he  removed  to  New  Bed- 
ford, where  he  practiced  for  six  years,  since  which  time  he  has  resided 
and  practiced  mostly  in  Sandwich. 

Joseph  Sampson,  M.D.,  born  in  Nantucket  in  1784,  was  a  graduate 
of  Harvard  Medical  College,  and  was  on  the  Embargo  Commission  in 
1809,  he  being  at  that  time  a  resident  of  Brewster.  He  was  married 
in  1815  to  Deborah  R.  Cobb  of  Brewster,  was  the  first  president  of  the 
Barnstable  District  Medical  Society,  and  died  in  Brewster  in  1846. 

Dr.  Samuel  Savage  was  born  in  1748.  He  resided  near  the  pres- 
ent residence  of  Henry  F.  Loring,  west  of  Barnstable  village.  He  was 
very  peculiar  in  his  manners,  and  when  the  stage-coach  was  passing, 
would  ascend  a  large  rock,  which  is  still  there,  and  in  sepulchral  tones 
announce  himself  as  a  physician  and  surgeon.     He  died  June  28, 1831. 

Dr.  Stephen  Hull  Sears,  son  of  Stephen  and  Henrietta  (Hull) 
Sears,  was  borii  in  South  Yarmouth,  July  31,  1854.  He  studied  med- 
icine with  Dr.  A.  Miller  at  Needham,  Mass.,  graduated  in  medicine  at 
Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  School,  New  York,  in  1879,  and  practiced 
in  Newport,  R.  I.,  from  December  30,  1879,  until  the  summer  of  1889, 
when  he  removed  to  Yarmouth,  where  he  is  now  located.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1881,  he  was  appointed  A.  A.  surgeon  in  the  United  States 
marine  hospital  service  which  position  he  held  while  in  Newpprt. 
He  was  also  four  years  surgeon  of  the  Newport  Artillery  Company, 
by  appointment  of  Governor  Wetmore,  with  the  rank  of  major.  Doctor 
Sears  married,  August  23, 1881,  Marianna  B.,  daughter  of  Danforth  P.W. 
and  Angeline  (Bearse)  Parker  of  Barnstable,  and  has  three  children. 

Dr.  Joseph  Seabury,  second  son  of  Ichabod  Seabury,  studied  med- 
icine with  Doctor  Fessenden  of  Brewster,  located  in  Orleans  in  1782, 
practiced  there  seventeen  years,  and  died  March  27,  1800. 

Dr.  Benjamin  Seabury  succeeded  his  father,  Dr.  Joseph  Seabury, 
as  physician  in  Orleans  and  vicinity,  practiced  there  until  April,  1837, 
when  he  removed  to  Boston,  and  subsequently  to  Charlestown,  where 
he  practiced  until  the  time  of  his  death,  September  16,  1853. 

Benjamin  F.  Seabury,  M.D.,  son  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Seabury,  suc- 
ceeded his  father  as  physician  and  surgeon  in  Orleans  from  1837  until 
his  death  there  February  26,  1890.  He  studied  medicine  with  his 
father  and  at  the  medical  school  of  Harvard  University  from  which 
he  graduated.  His  only  son  is  Samuel  W.  Seabury,  now  in  command 
of  a  ship  from  San  Francisco  to  Australia. 

Dr.  John  Seabury,  fourth  son  of  Dr.  Joseph  Seabury,  born  Febru- 
ary 4,  1790,  practiced  in  Chatham  fifteen  years,  then  removed  to  South- 
bridge,  Mass.,  and  subsequently  to  Camden,  N.  C,  where  he  died. 


244  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Dr.  George  Shove  was  born  in  Sandwich,  October  14,  1817,  where 
he  was  at  one  time  a  teacher  in  the  school  of  Paul  Wing.  He  was  ed- 
ucated to  the  profession  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1846  he 
became  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  and  of  the 
Barnstable  County  Society,  in  which  latter  he  was  president.  He  was 
eight  years  surgeon  of  the  United  States  Marine  Hospital  at  Hyannis. 
His  practice  was  extensive,  reaching  from  Cotuit  Port  to  Orleans,  al- 
though he  resided  at  Yarmouth,  where  he  married,  November  11, 1849, 
Lucy,  daughter  of  Captain  John  Eldridge.  Dr.  Shove's  parents  were 
Enoch  and  Desire  (Cobb)  Shove  of  Sandwich.  On  the  occasion  of  his 
death  the  Barnstable  District  Medical  Society  recorded  resolutions, 
including  this  :  "  The  community  in  which  his  entire  professional  life 
was  passed  has  experienced  a  loss  well  nigh  irreparable,  and  will  .hold 
his  name  in  grateful  remembrance  for  his  publidBpirit  and  enterprise, 
resulting  in  little  pecuniary  advantage  to  himself  but  in  great  good 
to  the  toiling  and  destitute." 

Marshall  E.  Simmons,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Wareham,  Mass.,  and 
graduated  from  Harvard  Medical  College  about  1861.  He  entered  the 
army  as  assistant  surgeon  of  the  Twenty-second  Regiment,  Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers,  July  29,  1862,  and  was  promoted  to  surgeon  of 
the  same  regiment  December  29,  1862.  He  resigned  his  commission 
the  27th  of  August,  1863,  and  practiced  medicine  in  Chatham  until 
February,  1870,  when  he  left  to  reside  in  one  of  the  Western  states. 
He  was  twice  married.  His  last  wife,  the  only  daughter  of  Gap- 
tain  George  Eldredge  of  Chatham,  he  married  August  4,  1869. 
He  subsequently  returned  to  Wareham,  Mass.,  where  died  in  May, 
1874. 

Dr.  Thomas  Smith,  a  physician  and  surgeon  of  Sandwich,  son  of 
Samuel  and  Bethiah  Smith  of  that  town,  was  born  September  7,  1718, 
and  studied  medicine  in  Hingham.  He  was  eminent  in  his  profes- 
sion.    He  visited  the  sick  far  and  near.     He  had  a  family. 

Dr.  Thomas  Starr  was  among  the  first  comers  to  Yarmouth.  He 
was  not  in  sympathy  with  the  first  settlers,  being  regarded  as  rather 
latitudinarian  in  his  principles,  and  was  once  fined  for  being  what 
was  regarded  as  "  a  scoffer  and  jeerer  at  religion."  Justice  compels 
the  statement  that  this  simply  consisted  in  preferring  another  minis- 
ter to  Rev.  Mr.  Matthews,  and  giving  his  reasons  therefor.  He  left 
town  about  1650,  there  being  insufficient  practice  of  his  profession 
for  his  support. 

Dr.  Ezra  Stephenson  practiced  medicine  at  Marston's  Mills  from 
1832  to  1838. 

John  Stetson,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Abington,  Mass.,  and  graduated 
from  Dartmouth  Medical  College  in  1850.  In  1851  he  commenced  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  West  Harwich,  where  he  still  resides. 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  245 

William  Stone,  M.D.,  was  a  practicing  physician  at  Wellfleet  prior 
to  1843.  His  father,  whose  name  he  bore,  was  also  a  physician  at  En- 
field, Mass.  In  locating  at  Wellfleet,  William  Stone  succeeded  Dr. 
James  Townsend,  who  had  been  a  physician  there  for  a  number  of 
yeafs.  Subsequently  he  married  Doctor  Townsend's  widow  and  re- 
moved to  Harvard,  Mass.,  where  he  died. 

Thomas  N.  Stone,  M.D.,  born  in  1818,  was  a  son  of  Dr.  William 
Stone.  He  was  a  graduate  (1840)  of  Bowdoin  College  and  Dartmouth 
Medical  School,  from  which  he  received  his  medical  degree,  October 
24,  1843.  He  practiced  in  Wellfleet  from  the  time  he  graduated  until 
1876,  with  the  exception  of  two  years  in  Truro.  He  removed  from 
Wellfleet  to  Provincetown  in  1875,  where  he  died  May  15,  1876.  He 
was-  a  very  pleasing  speaker  and  writer.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  school  committee  of  Wellfleet- nearly  thirty  years,  repre- 
sentative in  1873,  and  state  senator  in  1874  and  1875.  His  first 
marriage  was  with  Hannah  D.,  daughter  of  William  N.  Atwood. 
Their  two  sons  were  William  N.  Stone,  M.D.,  and  Thomas  N.,  de- 
ceased. His  second  wife  was  Nancy  B.,  another  daughter  of  William 
N.  Atwood.  Their  two  daughters,  one  Helen  L.  (Mrs.  F.  H.  Crowell 
of  Nebraska),  and  Anabel  (widow  of  E.  W.  Snow). 

William  N.  Stone,  M.D.,  born  in  1845  in  Truro,  is  a  son  of  Thomas 
N.  Stone,  M.D.,  and  a  grandson  of  William  Stone,  M.D.  He  attended 
Lawrence  Academy  two  years  and  Wilbraham  Academy  one  year, 
then  took  a  four  years'  course  at  Harvard  Medical  College  graduating 
in  June,  1869.  He  began  practice  in  Wellfleet  in  1869  with  his  father, 
who  retired  six  years  later,  leaving  a  large  practice  to  the  young  doc- 
tor. He  married  Adeline  Hamblin  and  has  two  children — Thomas 
N.  and  Adeline  H. 

Dr.  Jeremiah  Stone,  son  of  Captain  Shubael  and  Esther  (Wildes) 
Stone,  was  born  November  2,  1798,  and  was  a  prominent  physician  of 
Provincetown. 

Dr.  Alfred  Swift,  son  of  Thomas,  was  born  in  North  Rochester, 
Mass.,  March  3,  1797;  studied  medicine  with  his  brother  in  Vermont; 
came  to  Harwich  first,  and  then  removed  to  Dennis,  about  1828,  where 
he  died  July  27,  1875.  His  wife,  Elizabeth  Jane  Gray  of  Martha's 
Vineyard,  died  September  9,  1871.  He  had  an  adopted  son,  Charles 
Haskell  Swift,  who  married  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Brooks,  daughter  of  Heman 
Baxter,  and  now  lives  in  Dennis.  Doctor  Swift  is  best  remembered 
for  his  kindness  to  the  poor. 

Dr.  James  Thacher,  was  born  in  Barnstable,  February  14, 1764.  He 
studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Abner  Nersey,  and  entered  the  army  as 
surgeon  in  1775,  serving  seven  and  one-half  years.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  he  married  Susanna  Hayward  of  Bridgewater.  and  settled  in  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  Plymouth,  where  he  died  in  May,  1844,  in  his 


246  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

ninety-first  year.     He  published  several  works,  including  his  journal 
while  in  the  revolutionary  war. 

Dr.  Charles  N.  Thayer  was  born  at  Attleboro.  Mass.,  in  1828.  His 
childhood  was  passed  in  Mansfield,  where  his  early  education  was 
received.  His  father,  Simeon  Thayer,  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of 
1812.  His  grandfather,  Isaac  Fuller,  served  in  the  revolution,  and 
he  was  a  non-commissioned  officer  in  Company  I,  Fourth  Massachu- 
setts, during  the  late  rebellion.  On  the  maternal  side  he  traces  his 
ancestry  to  the  Doctor  Fuller  whose  name  is  enrolled  on  the  Puritans' 
monument  at  Plymouth,  Mass.  He  resided  for  some  time  in  Pem- 
broke, Mass.,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  lumber  business,  and  rep- 
resented that  town  in  the  legislature  of  1855.  He  studied  medicine 
with  E.  R.  Sisson,  M.D.,  of  New  Bedford,  and  attended  lectures  in 
Boston.  In  1869  he  opened  an  office  in  Falmouth,  and  established  an 
extensive  practice.  In  1884,  his  health  becoming  impaired,  .part  of 
his  practice  was  dropped  and  a  store  was  opened,  with  the  management 
of  which,  in  connection  with  his  professional  duties,  he  is  now  en- 
gaged. 

Dr.  Townsend  was  a  physician  of  Orleans  at  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century.  He  had  two  children,  Hannah  and  Julia,  baptized 
at  Orleans  by  Rev.  Mr.  Bascom,  the  former  in  1801,  the  latter  in  1803. 

Henry  Tuck,  M.D.,  of  Barnstable,  was  born  February  16,  1808,  and 
died  June  24,  1845. 

Alexander  T.  Walker,  M.D.,  a  practitioner  of  the  alopathic  school, 
was  born  in  Canada,  in  1844.  He  received  his  early  education  in 
Canada,  and  graduated  from  Dartmouth  College,  N.  H.,  in  1869.  Be- 
fore entering  Dartmouth  he  was  in  New  York  two  years— one  year  in 
the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  and  one  year  in  Bellevue 
Hospital  Medical  College.  Since  graduating  he  has  attended  lectures 
six  seasons — two  courses  in  Bellevue  Medical  College  (one  under  Doc- 
tor Loomis,  in  the  hospital),  one  course  in  Vermont  University  in 
Burlington,  and  two  courses  in  the  medical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  the  City  of  New  York.  In  1870  he  located  in  Maine,  but 
came  to  Falmouth  in  1883,  where  he  has  since  practiced. 

James  T.  Walker,  M.D.,  of  Falmouth,  born  April  25,  1850,  at  To- 
ronto, is  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  six  sons,  three  of  whom  are  phy- 
sicians and  the  others  clergymen.  He  was  educated  in  the  Toronto 
city  schools  and  at  eighteen  years  of  age  graduated  from  the  Provin- 
cial Normal  School.  Four  years  later  he  graduated  from  Queen's  Col- 
lege, Toronto,  at  the  head  of  the  class  of  '72,  and  was  chosen  its  val- 
edictorian. In  1873  he  came  to  Martha's  Vineyard  where  he  taught 
school  and  studied  medicine  three  years.  In  1876-7  he  attended  the 
Detroit  Medical  College  and  was  two  seasons  at  Burlington  in  the 
University  of  Vermont,  where  he  was  graduated  in  June,  1879,  and 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  247 

■was  again  valedictorian  of  his  class.  His  first  practice  was  at  Mar- 
tha's Vineyard,  whence  in  March,  1880,  he  came  to  Falmouth  as  suc- 
cessor to  Dr.  Lyman  H.  Luce.  Here  he  married  Evangeline  G., 
daughter  of  L  H.  Aiken. 

James  M.  Watson,  M.D.,  of  Falmouth,  was  bom  at  Sangerville, 
Me.,  January  16,  1860.  He  graduated  in  1881  from  Foxcroft  Acad- 
emy and  in  1883  from  Maine  Central  Institute  at  Pittsfield,  Me.  In 
March,  1886,  he  received  his  degree  from  the  medical  department 
of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  also  a  course  in  Bellevue 
Hospital  (under  Prof.  William  N.  Thompson),  and  has  since  practiced 
in  Falmouth.  In  April,  1890,  he  graduated  from  the  Homoeopathic 
Medical  College  and  Hospital  of  New  York.  He  is  a  registered  phar- 
macist and  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  pharmacy. 

George  E.  White,  M.D.,  was  born  in  1849  in  Skowhegan,  Me.,  and 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Skowhegan  and  in  the  Eaton  Family 
and  Day  School.  From  1868  to  1877  he  was  in  business  in  Boston. 
In  1877,  he  entered  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1880,  opening  a  practice  in  Sandwich  the 
same  year,  where  he  has  been  since  that  time.  He  is  a  member  of 
Dewitt  Clinton  Lodge,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  which  he  was  master  in 
1884  and  1885.  and  again  in  1889. 

Dr.  Jonas  Whitman,  an  early  physician  of  Barnstable,  was  born  in 
1749,  graduate  of  Yale  in  1772,  and  died  July  30,  1824.  His  father, 
Zachariah,  was  a  son  of  Ebenezer,  whose  father  Thomas,  was  a  son  of 
Deacon  John  Whitman  of  Weymouth.  He  had  three  sons :  John,  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  in  1805  ;  Josiah,  M.D.,  at  Harvard  in  1816;  and 
Cyrus  Whitman. 

Timothy  Wilson,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Shapleigh,  Me.,  July  27,  1811, 
and  died  in  Orleans,  Mass.,  July  18, 1887.  His  education  was  obtained 
in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town,  and  at  the  academy  in  Al- 
fred, Me.  He  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  the  ofiBce  of  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Lewis  of  Shapleigh,  afterward  attending  the  medical  departments 
of  Dartmouth  and  Bowdoin  Colleges,  graduating  from  the  latter  in 
1840.  He  settled  in  Ossipee,  N.  H.,  but  was  forced  to  leave  on  account 
of  the  long,  severe  winters,  and  look  for  a  more  congenial  climate,  the 
result  of  which,  was  his  settling  in  Orleans  in  the  summer  of  1848, 
where  he  continued  in  active  practice  until  failing  health  forced  him 
to  abandon  it  about  one  year  preceding  his  death.  He  always  took  a 
lively  interest  in  matters  pertaining  to  education.  In  early  life  he 
took  an  active  part  in  politics,  being  a  strong  anti-slavery  whig,  until 
the  formation  of  the  republican  party,  with  which  he  ever  after  acted. 

Besides  these  physicians  already  mentioned  in  this  chapter,  are 
others  concerning  whom  no  information  has  been  obtained  save  the 
fact  that  they  at  some  time  practiced  medicine  in  the  county.     Con- 


248  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

cerning  some  of  them,  traditions  might  be  given  ;  but  nothing  sufiB- 
ciently  authentic  to  merit  a  place  here.  The  apocryphal  names  are  : 
James  Ayer,  N.  Barrows,  J.  W.  Baxter,  John  Batchelder,  Jonathan 
Bemis,  Jonathan  Berry,  John  E.  Bruce,  W.  F.  S.  Brackett,  J.  W.  Clift, 
J.  W.  Crocker,  Bart.  Cushman,  N.  B.  Danforth,  D.  W.  Davis,  D.  Dim- 
mock,  Daniel  Doane,  J.  B.  Everett,  Benjamin  Fearing,  J.  B.  Forsyth, 
C.  A.  Goldsmith,  John  Harper,  J.  L.  Lothrop,  Ivory  H.  Lucas,  J.  W. 
Nickerson,  John  M.  Smith,  W.  O.  G.  Springer,  Henry  Willard,  Ben- 
nett Wing,  and  Edward  Wooster. 

By  chapter  26  of  the  Public  Statutes  of  Massachusetts,  Barnstable 
county  was  divided  into  three  medical  districts,  in  each  of  which  an 
"  able  and  discreet  man  learned  in  the  science  of  medicine  shall  be 
appointed,  whose  term  of  office  shall  be  seven  years."  District  1,  em- 
braces the  towns  of  Harwich,  Dennis,  Yarmouth,  Brewster,  Chatham, 
Orleans  and  Eastham ;  district  2,  Barnstable,  Bourne,  Sandwich, 
Mashpee  and  Falmouth ;  district  3,  Provincetown,  Truro  and  Well- 
fleet.  The  medical  examiners  now  in  office  are :  Drs.  George  N.  Mun- 
sell  of  Harwich,  Franklin  W.  Pierce  of  Barnstable,  and  Willis  W. 
Gleason  of  Provincetown. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


LITERATURE  AND  LITERARY  PEOPLE. 


By  Hon.  Charles  F.  Swift, 
President  of  the  Barnstable  County  Historical  Society. 


Early  Writers. — Freeman's  History  of  Cape  Cod. — Other  Local  Works. — Poetry. — Fic- 
tion.— Occasional  Writers. — The  Newspapers  of  Barnstable  County. 


THE  intelligence  and  capacity  of  the  people  of  the  Cape  have  not, 
heretofore,  been  evinced  so  much  in  what  they  have  said,  as  in 
what  they  have  dared  and  accomplished.  The  founders  of  her 
towns  were  not  usually  men  of  literary  taste  or  acquirements,  except 
her  clergy,  who  ranked  well  with  those  of  their  class  in  other  parts  of 
the  colony.  It  was  some  time  after  they  had  settled  the  towns,  sub- 
dued the  wild  face  of  nature,  and  helped  to  conquer  the  savage  foe, 
before  they  turned  their  attention  to  scholarship.  Then  it  was  that 
the  fisheries  on  their  shores  helped  to  found  and  maintain  the  first 
public  grammar  school  established  by  the  colony.  It  was,  indeed, 
the  chief  reliance  of  that  enterprise. 

The  first  of  their  written  compositions  which  are  extant  are  in  the 
form  of  sermons,  and  of  these  it  may  be  said,  that  their  style  was  as 
rugged  and  forbidding  to  our  present  taste,  as  were  the  ideas  they 
were  intended  to  convey.  In  hours  of  deep  affliction  the  fathers 
sometimes  essayed  to  woo  the  muses.  The  earliest  specimen  of  ele- 
gaic  verse  preserved,  is  found  in  the  lines  composed  on  the  death  of 
his  accomplished  wife,  by  Governor  Thomas  Hinckley,  of  which  pro- 
duction Mr.  Palfrey  says,  "  It  breathes  not,  indeed,  the  most  tuneful 
spirit  of  song,  but  the  very  tenderest  soul  of  affection." 

Dr.  John  Osborn,  born  in  Sandwich  in  1713,  a  son  of  Rev.  Samuel 
Osborn,  minister  for  some  time  of  the  south  precinct  of  Eastham, 
wrote  a  Whaling  Song,  which  has  obtained  celebrity.  It  is  quite  an  ad- 
vance, in  literary  finish,  upon  anything  preceding  it  which  had  been 
produced  by  a  Cape  Cod  writer.     The  opening  lines  are: 

"  When  spring  returns  with  western  gales, 
And  gentle  breezes  sweep 
The  ruffling  seas,  we  spread  our  sails, 
To  plough  the  wat'ry  deep." 


250  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Then  follow  seventeen  stanzas,  which  describe,  in  spirited  style,  the 
pursuit,  killing  and  capture  of  the  monsters  of  the  deep. 

Rev.  Thomas  Prince,  the  distinguished  author  of  New  Englatid's 
Annals  and  Chronology,  a  native  of  Sandwich  and  a  grandson  of  Gov- 
ernor Hinckley,  produced  a  work  of  exceeding  value.  In  the  opinion 
of  Doctor  Chauncy,  "  No  one  in  New  England  had  more  learning  ex- 
cept Cotton  Mather."  He  published  other  works,  though  the  Atinals 
is  esteemed  the  most  important. 

James  Otis,  jr.,  called  "  the  patriot,"  besides  being  a  peerless  ora- 
tor, was  the  author  of  several  important  political  treatises,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned  his  Rights  of  the  Colonies  Vindicated,  which 
was  styled  "  a  masterpiece  of  good  writing  and  argument." 

Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  West,  a  native  of  Yarmouth,  for  some  time  a  school- 
master in  Barnstable  and  Falmouth,  was  removed  for  his  metaphysical 
and  controversial  talents,  as  well  as  for  his  great  learning  and  pro- 
found scholarship.  "  He  was,"  said  Dr.  Timothy  Alden,  jr.,  "  as  re- 
markable for  his  mental  powers,  as  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  the  great 
biographer  and  moralist.  He  was  supposed  to  have  much  resembled 
him  in  personal  appearance,  and  with  the  same  literary  advantages, 
would  unquestionably  have  equalled  him  for  reputation  in  the  learned 
world."  He  wrote  several  important  tracts  during  the  revolutionary 
period. 

Rev.  Dr.  Timothy  Alden,  jr.,  a  native  of  Yarmouth  and  president 
of  Alleghany  College,  Meadville,  Pa.,  about  the  middle  of  the  century 
published  the  Collection  of  American  Epitaphs,  in  four  volumes,  a  book 
which  contained  a  fund  of  interesting  and  valuable  information.  Rev. 
James  Freeman,  D.D.,  minister  of  the  Stone  Chapel,  Boston,  a  native 
of  Truro,  contributed,  soon  after  this  time,  a  series  of  most  important 
papers  relating  to  the  history  of  the  towns  of  the  county  and  published 
in  the  collections  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  These 
papers  are  still  quoted  and  relied  upon  as  authority  on  the  subjects 
to  which  they  are  devoted. 

With  such  a  record  for  enterprise,  adventure,  patriotism  and  iden- 
tification with  the  great  movements  of  the  age  as  the  Cape  presents, 
it  would  be  strange  if  there  were  not  others  of  her  sons  who  should 
attempt  to  do  her  honor,  or  at  least  justice.  In  1858,  Rev.  Freder- 
ick Freeman,  of  Sandwich,  commenced  the  publication  of  a.  History 
of  Cape  Cod.  The  book  was  finally  completed,  in  two  large  volumes, 
and  to  all  time  must  be  the  foundation  upon  which  other  works  of 
the  kind  will  be  based.  The  difficulties  in  Mr.  Freeman's  way  were 
numerous ;  he  had  to  begin  without  any  considerable  previous  aid ; 
he  was  justly  emulous  of  the  fame  of  his  illustrious  ancestors ;  and 
being  himself  a  minister  of  the  church  of  England,  it  seemed  to 
some  that  he  did  tardy  and  stinted  justice  to  the  Pilgrim  and  Puri- 


LITERATURE   AND   LITERARY    PEOPLE.  251 

tan  elements.  Some  of  the  important  epochs  were  not  written  up 
with  the  fullness  and  elaboration  of  the  others.  But  despite  these 
drawbacks  Mr.  Freeman's  book  will  always  be  quoted,  as  the  first 
filial  attempt  of  any  Cape  Cod  man  to  do  appropriate  honor  to  the 
memory  of  the  pioneers  and  their  successors,  and  as  such  should  be 
held  in  high  estimation. 

Rev.  Enoch  Pratt,  in  1842,  published  his  history  of  Eastham,  Well- 
fleet  and  Orleans.  There  is  much  in  it  which  is  interesting,  unique 
and  worthy  of  preservation.  Mr.  Shebnah  Rich,  in  his  Truro,  Cape 
Cod,  has  embodied  in  an  original  form,  and  attractive  rhetoric,  a 
mass  of  important  information  respecting  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing towns  of  the  Old  Colony.  In  1861,  Mr.  Amos  Otis  commenced  a 
series  of  articles  in  the  Barnstable  Patriot,  respecting  the  history  of 
the  Barnstable  Families.  Nothing  has  yet  been  published  which 
evinces  so  familiar  an  acquaintance  with  the  habits,  manners,  motives 
and  impelling  principles  of  the  pioneers  of  the  town  as  these  sketches, 
by  one  of  their  descendants.  They  will  always  be  referred  to  as 
authority  on  the  points  which  they  discuss,  and  be  regarded  as  a 
monument  to  the  intelligence,  zeal  and  industry  of  their  author.  In 
1884,  Charles  F.  Swift  published  a  history  of  Old  Yarmouth,  including 
the  towns  of  Yarmouth  and  Dennis;  in  one  volume,  283  pages.  Mr. 
Swift  has  also  published  a  Fourth  of  July  oration,  1858,  a  continua- 
tion of  Barnstable  Families,  several  occasional  addresses,  and  contribu- 
tions to  magazines  and  newspapers,  principally  on  biographical  and 
historical  subjects.  The  sketches  of  the  History  of  Falmouth  up  ta 
1812,  by  the  late  Charles  W.  Jenkins,  were  issued  in  a  collected  form 
by  the  Falmouth  Local  press  in  1889.  They  were  written  before  so- 
much  was  known  as  has  since  transpired  about  the  early  history  of 
the  town,  and  the  book  is  a  filial  and  creditable  work.  Mr.  Josiah 
Paine  of  Harwich,  who  contributes  to  this  work  the  chapters  on  the 
history  of  Harwich  and  Brewster,  has  written  with  intelligence  and 
discrimination,  other  important  historical  papers,  for  the  newspapers 
and  magazines,  and  has  a  manuscript  collection  of  great  value  re- 
garding old  Harwich  and  its  people.  Mr.  Joshua  H.  Paine,  his  brother, 
has  also  written  an  exhaustive  unpublished  account  of  the  War  of 
1812  in  its  relation  to  Harwich.  His  contribution  on  that  topic  to  the 
present  volume  appears  at  page  76. 

In  other  departments  of  literary  eflfort  the  natives  of  the  Cape 
have  somewhat  distinguished  themselves.  The  early  bards  of  the 
county  have  already  been  alluded  to.  Several  others  remain  to  be 
noticed.  Daniel  Barker  Ford,  son  of  Dr.  Oliver  Ford  of  Hyannis,who 
was  an  apprentice  in  the  Yarmouth  /?^^w/^r  office  about  1842-4,  evinced 
much  poetic  and  rhetorical  talent.  His  best  known  piece,  ''A  Lay  of 
Cape  Cod," -was  modeled  in  style  and  treatment  f  rom  Whittier's  Lays  of 


•252  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Labor,  and  was  a  most  spirited  and  stirring  production.     A  few  of  its 
inspiring  lines  are  quoted  : 

"  Hurrah  I  for  old  Cape  Cod, 

With  its  sandy  hills  and  low, 
Where  the  waves  of  ocean  thunder, 

And  the  winds  of  heaven  blow; 
Where  through  summer  and  through  winter, 

Through  sunshine  and  thro'  rain, 
The  hardy  Cape  man  plies  his  task 

Upon  the  heaving  main. 

"  Hurrah  I  for  the  maids  and  matrons 

That  grace  our  sandy  home. 
As  gentle  as  the  summer  breeze, 

As  fair  as  ocean's  foam  ; 
Whose  glances  fall  upon  the  hearty 

Like  sunlight  on  the  waters  ; 
Who're  brighter  in  the  festal  ball 

Than  France's  brightest  daughters." 

Dr.  Thomas  N.  Stone  of  Wellfleet,  published  in  1869,  a  volume, 
entitled  Cape  Cod  Rhymes.  He  possessed  the  true  poetic  temperament, 
was  witty,  pathetic,  and  alive  to  the  sights  and  scenes  of  nature 
around  him.  He  also  wrote  and  delivered  felicitous  occasional  orations 
and  addresses.  Asa  S.  Phinney,  also  a  printer  in  the  office  of  the  Yar- 
mouth Register,  in  1845  collected  and  issued  a  little  pamphlet.  Accepted 
Addresses,  etc.  There  were  twenty-four  pieces  in  all,  some  of  which 
evinced  considerable  poetic  ability.  Mr.  Phinney  was  also  a  frequent 
and  welcome  contributor  to  the  Cape  newspapers. 

Mrs.  Francis  E.  Swift  of  Falmouth,  has  written  for  several  years 
for  the  current  magazines  and  newspapers,  under  the  nom  de  plume, 
"  Fanny  Fales."  She  published,  in  1853,  Voices  of  the  Heart,  and  has  a 
large  number  of  superior  compositions  not  yet  in  a  collected  form. 
Mrs.  Swift  is  not  only  an  easy  and  graceful  versifier,  but  has  shown  a 
higher  poetic  fancy  and  a  deeper  insight  into  the  emotions  and  feel- 
ings of  the  human  heart.  We  present  a  single  specimen  in  her  reflec- 
tions upon  Longfellow's  line  "  Into  each  Life  some  Rain  must  Fall." 

"If  this  were  all,  O  if  this  were  all, 
That '  Into  each  life  some  rain  must  fall ' — 
There  were  fainter  sobs  in  the  Poet's  rhyme. 
There  were  fewer  wrecks  on  the  shores  Of  time. 

"  But  tempests  of  woe  pass  over  the  soul. 
Fierce  winds  of  anguish  we  cannot  control ; 
And  shock  after  shock  we  are  called  to  bear, 
TUl  the  lips  are  white  with  the  heart's  despair. 

"  O,  the  shores  of  time  with  wrecks  are  strown, 
Unto  the  ear  comes  ever  a  moan, 
Wrecks  of  hopes  that  sail  with  glee. 
Wrecks  of  loves  sinking  silently  ! 


LITERATURE  AND  LITERARY  PEOPLE.  253 

"  Many  are  hidden  from  mortal  eye, 
Only  God  knoweth  how  deep  they  lie  ; 
Only  God  heard  when  the  cry  went  up  ; 
'  Help  me  I  take  from  me  this  bitter  cup ! ' 

"  'Into  each  life  some  rain  must  fall' — 
If  this  were  all,  O,  if  this  were  all  I 
Yet  there  is  a  Refuge  from  storm  and  blast. 
We  may  hide  in  the  Rock  till  the  woe  is  past. 

"  Be  strong  I  be  strong  I  to  my  heart  1  cry, 
A  pearl  in  the  wounded  shell  doth  lie  ; 
Days  of  sunshine  are  g^ven  to  all. 
Though  '  Into  each  life  some  rain  must  fall.'" 

Prof.  Alonzo  Tripp,  a  native  of  Harwich,  wrote  in  1853  a  book  of 
European  travels  entitled  Crests  from  the  Ocean  World,  which  had  a  sale 
of  60,000  copies.  Afterward  he  wrote  a  local  novel,  entitled  The  Fisher 
Boy,  which  had  a  large  sale,  and  many  appreciative  readers.  He  has 
since  delivered  lectures  on  European  events,  in  almost  every  consid- 
erable place  in  the  country,  which  have  attracted  audiences  of  culture 
and  discrimination.  He  has  now  in  press  a  series  of  Historical  Por- 
traitures, which  will  take  high  rank  in  the  contemporaneous  literature 
of  the  country. 

In  fictitious  narrative.  Rev.  N.  H.  Chamberlain,  a  native  of  Sand- 
wich, has  published.  Autobiography  of  a  New  England  Farm  House,  the 
scenes  of  which  are  laid  in  that  part  of  Sandwich  now  Bourne.  It 
is  a  reproduction,  in  agreeable  and  picturesque  style,  of  many  local 
incidents  and  traditions.  He  has  also  written  The  Sphinx  of  Aubery 
Parish  and  a  book  entitled  Samuel  Sewell  and  The  World  he  Lived  in, 
several  polemic  church  pamphlets,  book  notices,  lectures  and  his- 
torical discourses.  At  page  8  of  this  volume  is  a  fragment  revealing 
at  once  his  keen  appreciation  of  the  Cape  character  and  his  happy 
style  as  a  descriptive  writer. 

Some  thirty  years  ago.  Captain  Benjamin  F.  Bourne,  who  had  been 
a  prisoner  in  Southern  South  America,  wrote  and  published  a  book 
entitled.  The  Captive  in  Patagonia.  It  was  a  volume  of  thrilling  inter- 
est and  had  an  enormous  sale.  Even  at  this  day  it  is  frequently  called 
for  at  the  book-stores,  and  is  read  with  as  much  interest  as  when  fresh 
from  the  press. 

Charles  F.  Chamberlayne,  Esq.,  of  Bourne,  has  edited  a  law  book 
entitled,  Best's  Principles  of  the  Law  of  Evidetue,  which  under  the 
name  of  Chamberlayne' s Best,  has  been  adopted  as  the  standard  author- 
ity in  most  of  the  law  schools  of  the  country. 

Sylvester  Baxter,  a  native  of  Yarmouth,  has  been  for  many  years 
one  of  the  stafif  writers  of  the  Boston  Herald.  In  1883  and  1884  he 
went  to  Mexico,  as  editor  of  The  Financier  of  that  city,  and  also  cor- 
respondent of  the  Herald.     He  has  contributed  considerably  for  the 


"254  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

magazines  in  the  way  of  essays,  poetry,  sketches  of  travel  and  short 
stories,  and  although  his  writings  have  not  been  collected,  some  of 
them  havfe  appeared  in  pamphlet  form;  among  them  an  illustrated 
■description  of  the  Morse  Collection  of  Japatiese  Pottery,  and  Berlin;  a 
Study  of  Gertnan  Municipal  Government;  both  of  them  published  by  the 
Essex  Institute,  Salem.  Here  is  one  of  Mr.  Baxter's  short  poems, 
from  the  Atlantic  Monthly  of  October,  1875,  entitled  "  October  Days"  : 
"  The  maples  in  the  forest  glow. 

And  on  the  lawn  the  fall-flowers  blaze. 

The  mild  air  has  a  purple  haze; 
My  heart  is  filled  with  warmth  and  glow. 

"  like  living  coals  the  red  leaves  burn; 
They  fall — then  turns  the  red  to  rust; 
They  crumble,  like  the  coals,  to  dust. 
Warm  heart,  must  thou  to  ashes  bum  ?" 

It  only  remains  to  remark  that  the  paternal  parent  of  John  How- 
ard Payne,  the  author  of  "  Home,  Sweet  Home,"  was  of  Cape  Cod 
origin,  and  that  Harvey  Birch,  the  prototype  of  Cooper's  "Spy," 
originated  in  Harwich,  his  real  name  being  Enoch  Crosby,  and  his 
actual  experience  being  matched  by  all  the  incidents  recounted  in 
this  most  characteristic  of  the  author's  works.  Though  not  himself 
the  creator  of  one  of  the  most  striking  personalities  in  modem  fiction, 
he  was  what  is  still  better,  the  original  of  this  most  prominent  char- 
acter. 

Other  natives  in  professional  and  business  life,  but  not  devoted  to 
literature  as  a  pursuit,  have  contributed  valuable  writings  to  the  press 
in  their  leisure  and  unengrossed  hours.  Of  these  it  may  be  proper  to 
name:  Rev.  Osborn  Myrick  of  Provincetown,  a  prolific  writer  to  the 
county  newspapers;  Frederick  W.  Crocker  of  Barnstable,  who  wrote 
severel  witty  poems  of  high  literary  merit  for  occasional  meetings 
and  public  gatherings;  Frederick  W.  Crosby  of  Barnstable,  a  writer 
of  sketches,  essays  and  stories  in  the  leading  Boston  and  New  York 
journals,  whose  career  was  prematurely  cut  short  in  the  most  useful 
period  of  his  life;  Benjamin  Dyer,  jr.,  of  Truro,  an  officer  in  the  vol- 
unteer navy,  who  evinced  a  high  degree  of  descriptive  talent;  and 
E.  S.  Whittemore,  Esq.,  of  Sandwich,  the  author  of  the  chapter  on 
the  Bench  and  Bar  in  this  volume. 

Hon.  John  B.  D.  Cogswell  of  Yarmouth,  who  touched  no  subject 
he  did  not  elucidate  and  adorn,  wrote  as  an  introduction  to  the  Atlas 
of  Barnstable  County  (1880)  an  outline  of  county  history,  which  is  a 
valuable  and  interesting  epitome.  He  also  delivered  a  number 
-of  well-considered,  elegantly  composed  public  addresses  and  lectures, 
some  of  which  have  been  published.  Matthew  Arnold  said  of  him 
-that  he  was  the  most  gifted  man  he  met  in  America,  forming  his  judg- 
ment from  Mr.  Cogswell's  accomplishment  as  a  conversationalist. 


/2^/    <y^    /^^^z<j^* 


e,     BIERSTAOT.    N.    V. 


LITERATURE  AND   LITERARY   PEOPLE.  255 

Sidney  Brooks,  of  Harwich,  was  also  a  writer  of  intelligence  and 
great  enthusiasm  upon  local  history  and  topographical  description. 
Rev.  John  W.  Dodge,  has  composed  hymns  and  discourses  which  are 
always  of  interest  from  their  scholarship  and  literary  finish.  Captain 
Thomas  P.  Howes,  of  Dennis,  has  produced  sea  sketches,  historical 
portraitures,  and  vivid  descriptions  of  travel  and  adventure,  which  if 
collected  in  a  volume  would  meet  with  rapid  and  extensive  apprecia- 
tion. Mrs.  Mary  M.  Bray,  a  native  of  Yarmouth,  whose  250th  anni- 
versary poem  there  has  met  such  universal  admiration,  had  be- 
fore written  some  graceful  poems  and  sketches  of  distant  places,  for 
the  journals  of  the  day.  Miss  Gertrude  Alger,  a  young  poet  of  merit, 
who  has  just  passed  into  the  spiritual  world,  has  produced  some  grace- 
ful and  finished  poems,  one  or  two  of  which  have  found  their  place 
in  the  current  collections  of  contemporaneous  poetry.  Hon.  Henry 
A.  Scudder  and  Hon.  George  Marston,  of  Barnstable,  better  known  as 
lawyers,  also  delivered  addresses  and  orations  which  commanded  at- 
tention from  their  style  and  treatment  of  important  public  questions. 
Philip  H.  Sears,  Esq.,  a  native  of  Dennis,  has  delivered  several  public 
addresses,  one  of  the  most  important  of  which,  on  the  celebration  of 
the  2.'50th  anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  Old  Yarmouth,  was  a  fin- 
ished and  thoughtful  presentation  of  the  subject.  Azariah  Eldridge, 
D.D.,  of  Yarmouth,  besides  his  pulpit  discourses,  wrote  several  public 
addresses  which  have  commanded  the  attention  of  thoughtful  read- 
ers and  thinkers.  A  memorial  volume,  containing  a  brief  memoir  of 
Doctor  Eldridge,  by  C.  F.  Swift,  Rev.  Mr.  Dodge's  sermon  at  his  obse- 
ques  and  various  letters  and  notices  by  personal  friends,  has  been 
prepared  for  private  circulation  under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Eldridge. 

Two  school  books  which  had  a  high  reputation  in  their  day,  were 
prepared  by  old-time  Cape  teachers.  Rev.  Jonathan  Burr,  of  Sand- 
wich, pastor  of  the  First  church  and  preceptor  of  Sandwich  Academy, 
about  the  close  of  the  last  century  was  the  author  of  a  Compendium  of 
English  Grammar,  which  occupied  a  leading  position  in  the  schools  in 
this  portion  of  the  state  for  many  years.  Mr.  Burr  was  a  man  of  much 
natural  ability  and  scholarship.  Captain  Zenas  Weeks,  of  Marston's 
Mills,  a  prominent  man  in  his  day,  a  school  teacher  and  music  teacher, 
was  the  author  of  a  text  book  on  English  grammar,  issued  about  the 
year  1833. 

In  1854,  Mrs.  A.  M.  Richards,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Benjamin 
Hallet  of  Osterville,  wrote  a  volume  of  140  pages,  which  was  pub- 
lished by  Gould  &  Lincoln,  Boston,  entitled  Memoirs  of  a  Grandmother; 
by  a  Lady  of  Massachusetts.  It  was  an  autobiography,  and  contained 
graphic  sketches  of  incidents  and  individuals,  some  of  whom  are  well 
known  to  the  public.  Interspersed  in  the  narrative  are  a  number  of 
metrical  compositions  of  a  high  order  of  poetical  merit. 


256  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNRY. 

In  1888,  a  volume  entitled,  Biographical  sketch  of  Sylvanus  B.  Phin- 
ney,  was  issued  on  the  80th  anniversary  of  his  birthday.  The  volume 
contains  a  sketch  of  his  life,  letters  from  Revs.  Edward  E.  Hale  and 
A.  Nickerson,  and  public  addresses  and  papers  prepared  by  Mr.  Phin- 
ney. 

Joseph  Story  Fay,  Esq.,  of  Woods  HoU,  published  in  1878  a  little 
monograph  entitled.  The  Track  of  the  Norsmen,  in  which  he  very  in- 
geniously argues  that  these  Scandinavian  navigators  visited  the 
locality  since  known  as  Wood's  Hole,  and  that  the  proper  name  of 
the  locality  is  Wood's  Holl  (meaning  hill),  which  name,  through  his 
efforts,  it  now  bears.  Mr.  Fay,  who  is  an  enthusiastic  arborator  as 
well  as  a  gentleman  of  literary  tastes  and  pursuits,  has  delivered  ad- 
dresses relating  to  his  experiences  in  planting  and  rearing  forest 
trees  on  his  estate  at  Woods  Holl. 

Rev.  J.  G.  Gammons  issued  in  1888,  a  monograph  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  of  Bourne,  which  sketches  the  rise  and  growth  of 
Methodism,  and  preserves  many  interesting  reminiscences  of  the 
pioneers  of  this  sect  on  Cape  Cod  and  elsewhere,  especially  in  the 
town  of  Bourne. 

A  Genealogy  of  the  Burgess  family,  from  Thomas  Burgess  who 
settled  in  Sandwich  in  1637,  to  the  year  1865,  was  issued  at  that  date, 
by  E.  Burgess  of  Dedham.  It  was  a  private  edition,  printed  for  the 
author,  and  contained  196  pages  and  has  over  4,600  names  of  the  fam- 
ily and  branches,  with  several  lithographic  portraits. 

George  Eldridge,  of  Chatham,  in  1880  published  a  work  of  Sailing 
Directions  for  Navigators,  followed  by  other  editions  in  1884  and  1886. 
In  1889  he  published  Eldridge's  Tide  and  Current  Book.  These  publi- 
cations, together  with  Mr.  Eldridge's  charts,  are  the  most  valuable 
works  of  the  class  extant,  and  are  looked  upon  as  standard  authority 
by  navigators,  and  adopted  by  the  naval  authorities  of  the  country. 

Mr.  Gustavus  A.  Hinckley  has  reproduced  for  publication  in  the 
Barnstable  Patriot,  the  inscriptions  on  the  ancient  grave-stones  in 
the  old  Barnstable  cemetery,  engraving  the  blocks  very  neatly  with 
his  own  hand,  and  compiling  information  to  accompany  the  cuts.  He 
has  also  compiled  a  manuscript  History  of  Barnstable  in  the  Civil  War. 

In  1866,  Mrs.  Caroline  (Thacher)  Perry,  of  Yarmouth,  collected  a 
volume  of  short  stories  which  she  had  contributed  to  the  New  Church 
Magazine  for  Children,  and  they  were  published,  with  illu.strations,  by 
Nichols  &  Noyes,  of  Boston,  under  the  title,  Efie  Gray  and  other  Short 
Stories  for  Little  Children.  These  stories  possessed  the  rare  merit  in 
juvenile  literature  of  interesting  the  class  of  readers  for  which  they 
were  designed. 

Rev.  Dr.  William  H.  Ryder,  a  native  of  Provincetown,  who  de- 
ceased in  Chicago  where  he  settled  in  1888,  was  a  pulpit  orator  of 


.    LITERATURE  AND   LITERARY  PEOPLE.  257 

eloquence  and  power,  and  wrote  some  able  articles  for  the  Universalist 
Quarterly.  His  writings,  however,  have  not  appeared  in  a  collected 
form. 

Heman  Doane,  of  Eastham,  has  written  a  number  of  metrical  com- 
positions, a  few  of  which  have  been  published  and  which  possess  a 
good  degree  of  poetic  fancy  and  facility  of  versification.  One  of 
them,  on  the  A?tcient  Pear  Tree  in  East  ham,  ■p\a.nteA  by  Governor  Prince, 
attracted  the  attention  of  Thoreau,  who  quoted  freely  therefrom. 

"  Two  hundred  years  have,  on  the  wings  of  time, 

Passed  with  their  joys  and  woes,  since  thou.  Old  Tree! 
Put  forth  thy  first  leaves  in  this  foreign  clime. 
Transplanted  from  the  soil  beyond  the  sea. 
****** 

"  That  exiled  band  long  since  have  passed  away. 

And  still  Old  Tree  thou  standest  in  the  place 
Where  Pence's  hand  did  plant  thee,  in  his  day, — 

An  undesigned  memorial  of  his  race 
And  time;  of  those  our  honored  fathers,  when 

They  came  from  Plymouth  o'er  and  settled  here; 
Doane,  Higgius,  Snow  and  other  worthy  men. 

Whose  names  their  sons  remember  to  revere." 

James  Gifford,  of  Provincetown,  has  prepared  and  delivered  pub- 
lic addresses  which  have  attracted  attention  by  their  felicity  of  style 
and  fullness  of  information.  That  delivered  at  the  dedication  of  the 
Povincetown  new  town  hall,  in  the  fall  of  1866,  was  published  and 
read  with  interest  and  appreciation.  Levi  Atwood,  of  Chatham,  has 
written  considerably  upon  local  matters.  He  published,  in  1876,  a  con- 
densed history  of  Chatham,  occupying  several  columns  of  small  news- 
paper type,  written  in  an  appreciative  and  discriminating  spirit. 
Nathaniel  Hinckley,  of  Marston's  Mills,  besides  writing  much  and 
ably  for  the  newspapers,  and  delivering  public  addresses,  has  pub- 
lished several  political  pamphlets,  of  considerable  argumentative  force. 
Benjamin  Drew,  a  native  of  Plymouth,  but  connected  by  marriage 
with  a  prominent  family  of  the  Cape,  and  for  some  years  a  resident  here, 
has  at  various  times  written  witty  and  felicitous  verses  on  local  topics, 
one  of  which  pieces,  entitled  "  Bartholomew  Gosnold's  Dream,"  is 
often  quoted  for  its  local  hits.  As  one  of  these  poems  refers  to  the 
christening  of  the  Cape,  a  few  of  its  stanzas  will  be  deemed  appro- 
priate : 

"  There  sailed  an  ancient  mariner. 

Bart  Gosnold  was  he  hight, — 
The  Cape  was  all  a  wilderness 

When  Gosnold  hove  in  sight. " 

"  He  saw  canoes  and  wigwams  rude. 
By  ruder  builders  made, 
Squaws  pounded  samp  about  the  door, 
And  dark  pappooses  played. 
17 


258  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

"  The  hills  were  bold  and  fair  to  view, 
And  covered  o'er  with  trees, 
Said  Gosnold,  '  Bring  a  fishing  line. 
While  lulls  the  evening  breeze. 

"  'I'll  christen  that  there  sandy  shore 
From  the  first  fish  I  take — 
Tautog,  or  toadfish,  cusk  or  cod, 
Horse-mackerel  or  hake, 

"  '  Hard-head  or  haddock,  sculpin,  squid. 
Goose-fish,  pipe-fish  or  cunner, — 
No  matter  what — shall  with  its  name 
Yon  promontory  honor.' 

"  Old  Neptune  heard  the  promise  made, 
Down  dove  the  water-god — 
He  drove  the  mesiner  fish  away 
And  hooked  the  mammoth  cod. 

"  Quick  Gosnold  hauled.    '  Cape— Cape — Cape — Cod.' 
'  Cape  Cod,'  the  crew  cried  louder  ; 
'  Here,  steward  1  take  the  fish  along, 
And  give  the  boys  a  chowder.' '" 

Not  only  has  Cape  Cod  furnished  a  considerable  contribution  of 
the  best  literature  to  the  world,  but  it  has  been  provocative  of  a  good 
deal  of  interesting  writing  from  others,  in  respect  to  its  character- 
istics, both  mental  and  physical.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at, 
that  a  community  so  peculiarly  situated  as  this  should  attract  atten- 
tion and  excite  curiosity.  In  1807,  an  Englishman  named  Kendall 
visited  these  parts  and  published  a  book  in  which  he  devoted  a  liberal 
share  of  space  to  this  county.  Although  it  contained  nothing  very 
striking,  it  embodied  some  interesting  and  curious  information  re- 
specting the  Cape,  at  that  day,  when  intercourse  with  the  world  was 
quite  infrequent  to  the  mass  of  the  people. 

About  1821,  Dr.  Timothy  Dwight,  former  president  ef  Yale  Col- 
lege, published  his  Travels  in  New  England,  in  four  volumes,  a  liberal 
space  being  devoted  to  Cape  Cod.  His  book  was  full  of  information, 
and  appreciative  in  that  part  of  it  devoted  to  the  Cape.  At  a  later 
period  N.  P.  Willis  wrote  for  a  New  York  newspaper,  and  afterward 
embodied  in  a  book,  a  series  of  lively,  touch-and-go  letters,  dealing 
more  particularly  with  the  outward  aspect  of  the  Cape.  Some  of  his 
strictures  gave  offense  and  others  were  more  agreeable  to  the  popular 
taste.  Though  not  profound,  this  book  was  exceedingly  suggestive 
and  entertaining. 

Of  all  the  numerous  publications  of  the  nature  ever  issued  from 
the  press,  Thoreau's  Cape  Cod  is  by  far  the  best,  as  a  literary  produc- 
tion, and  for  genuine  appreciation  of  the  grand  physical  aspects  of 
the  Cape,  and  of  the  true  qualities  of  its  people.  Thoreau  had  a  keen 
relish  for  quaint  and  curious  phases  of  character  as  well  as  of  land- 


LITERATURE  AND   LITERARY   PEOPLE.  259 

scape,  and  his  pictures  of  the  "  Wellfleet  Oysterman  "  and  of  other 
original  people  revealed  the  presence  among  us  of  striking  personali- 
ties. His  admiration  of  the  Cape  is  genuine,  and  his  closing  page 
records  his  conviction  that  "  the  time  must  come  when  this  coast  will 
be  a  place  of  resort  for  all  those  who  wish  to  visit  the  seaside." 
«#  #  *  What  are  springs  and  waterfalls?  Here  is  the  spring  of 
springs  and  the  waterfall  of  waterfalls.  *  *  *  A  man  may  stand 
there  and  put  all  America  behind  him." 

The  Press. — The  newspapers  of  the  Cape  have  been  many,  and 
more  ability  has  been  embodied  in  their  publication  than  has  always 
found  appreciation — of  a  pecuniary  nature.  The  first  newspaper 
published  in  the  county  was  issued  at  Falmouth,  November  21, 
1823,  by  W.  E.  P.  Rogers  under  the  name  of  The  Nautical  Intelligencer. 
It  was  issued  weekly  at  two  dollars  per  year.  In  addition  to  the  news- 
paper, the  publishers  is.sued,  twice  each  week,  extras  containing  the 
marine  news  and  important  arrivals  at  Holme's  Hole,  for  transmis- 
sion to  Boston.  The  paper  also  indulged  in  political  speculations, 
being  a  strong  adherent  of  Mr.  Calhoun  for  President,  for  the  reasons, 
among  others,  that  he  was  "  an  enlightened  friend  of  Internal  Im- 
provements and  Domestic  Manufactures."  This  eulogy  sounds  oddly 
enough  in  view  of  his  subsequent  course.  The  paper  was  printed  on 
a  sheet  18  by  25  inches,  with  four  pages,  containing  four  columns 
each,  16  inches  in  length.  In  its  first  issue  there  was  not  a  single 
item  of  local  news  except  deaths,  marriages  and  ship-news,  and  it  con- 
tained twelve  advertisements.  It  did  not  continue  in  existence  long 
— probably  not  more  than  a  year  and  a  half. 

Removing  his  printing  and  material  to  Barnstable,  Mr.  Rogers  on 
April  13,  1825,  commenced  the  publication  of  the  Barnstable  County 
Gazette.  The  Gazette  had  one  more  column  on  each  page  than  its 
predecessor,  and  a  rather  larger  advertising  patronage.  It  paid  more 
attention  to  local  news ;  but  that  was  not  a  newspaper  reading  age, 
and  its  publication  was  continued  not  over  two  years,  so  far  as  can 
now  be  ascertained. 

In  1826,  the  Barnstable  Journal  was  commenced  by  Nathaniel  S. 
Simpkins.  It  was  a  six-column  newspaper,  containing  a  few  para- 
graphs of  local  news,  considerable  shipping  intelligence,  and  liberal 
extracts  from  the  Boston  and  New  York  newspapers,  also  miscellany 
and  moral  readings.  The  Journal  attained  a  good  circulation.  In  1832 
Mr.  Simpkins  sold  out  the  establishment  to  H.  Underwood  and  C.  C. 
P.  Thompson,  who  published,  for  one  year,  also  a  semi-weekly  paper 
called  the  Cape  Cod  Journal.  In  1834  Mr.  Underwood  became  the  sole 
proprietor  of  the  weekly,  which  in  1837  again  passed  into  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Simpkins,  who  removed  the  plant  to  Yarmouth,  and  established 
the  Register. 


260  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  Barnstable  Patriot  was  established  by  S.  B.  Phinney,  in  1830, 
and  was  conducted  by  him  until  1869,  when  he  sold  out  to  Franklin  B. 
Goss  and  George  H.  Richards.  Subsequently  the  whole  establishment 
was  acquired  by  Mr.  Goss,  who  now  conducts  it,  in  connection  with 
his  son,  F.  Percy  Goss.  The  Patriot,  during  Mr.  Phinney's  connection 
with  it  was  an  active  and  aggressive  democratic  sheet.  Some  time 
after  Mr.  Goss's  assumption  of  the  management  it  espoused  the  re- 
publican cause,  in  which  it  still  maintains  a  lively  interest.  During 
Mr.  Phinney's  proprietorship  of  the  newspaper,  Hon.  Henry  Crocker 
was  a  frequent  editorial  contributor,  mostly  of  political  articles.  In 
1861  the  late  Amos  Otis  contributed  a  series  of  articles  entitled  Genea- 
logical Notes  of  Barnstable  Families,  which  have  been  republished  as  an 
extra  sheet,  and  bound  in  a  book  form  by  Mr.  Goss,  edited  by  C.  F. 
Swift,  who  also  wrote  a  continuation  of  the  sketches.  The  Patriot  is 
now  the  oldest  journal  published  in  the  county.  In  1861,  the  Sand- 
wich Mechanic  was  for  one  year  issued  at  the  Patriot  office. 

December  15,  1836,  the  first  number  of  the  Yarmouth  Register  was 
issued  by  N.  S.  Simpkins,  publisher.      The  plant  of  the  Journal  had 
been  purchased  by  Messrs.  John  Reed,  Amos  Otis,  N.  S.  Simpkins, 
Ebenezer  Bacon  and  Edward  B.  Hallet.      Mr.  Simpkins  was  assisted 
in  the  editorship  by  contributions  from  Messrs.  Caleb  S.  Hunt  and 
Amos  Otis.     The  paper,  besides  being  a  local  journal,  was  designed 
to  champion  the  cause  of  Hon.  John  Reed,  the  member  of  congress 
from  this  district,  and  to  oppose  the  Jackson  and  Van  Buren  dynasty, 
which  was  rather  obnoxious  in  this  county.      The  controversies  with 
the  Barnstable  Patriot  which  followed,  were  exceedingly  bitter  and 
personal,  on  both  sides.     In  1839  Mr.  Simpkins  retired  from  the  man- 
agement of  the  paper  and  was  succeeded  by  William  S.  Fisher,  who 
was  a  printer  by  profession,  and  who  infused  considerable  vigor  into 
its  management.     In  1846,  the  present  manager,  Charles  F.  Swift,  be- 
.  came  connected  with  the  management  of  the  Register,  as  co-partner 
with  Mr.  Fisher,  and  in  1849  became  sole  editor  and  publisher.     Dur- 
ing the  last  forty  years  the  conduct  of  the  paper  has  been  in  his  hands, 
.  with  assistance  successively  by  his  four  sons,  Francis  M.,  Frederick 
C,  Theodore  W.,  and  Charles  W.  Swift.      The  Register,  which  was 
originally  a  whig  journal,  and  supported  Webster,  Clay,  Taylor  and 
Scott  for  the  presidency,  had  always  been  strongly  anti-slavery  in  its 
proclivities,  and  in  1857  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  the  republicans, 
which  it  has  ever  since  supported,  with  earnestness  and  without  reser- 
vation.     The  Register  has  also  paid  much  attention  to  questions  of 
social  reform  and  general  and  local  history. 

The  Sandwich  Observer  was  first  issued  in  September,  1845,  by 
George  Phinney.  It  was  a  24-column  folio,  24  by  36  inches,  and  was 
devoted  to  general  and  local  news  and  miscellany.     Dr.  John  Harper 


LITERATURE  AND  LITERARY  PEOPLE.  261 

and  C.  B.  H.  Fessenden  were  special  contributors  to  its  columns.  The 
Observer  attained  a  fair  patronage,  being  neutral  in  politics  and  having 
the  support  of  all  the  political  parties,  but  the  field  was  at  best  a  lim- 
ited one,  and  in  August,  1851,  Mr.  Phinney  removed  his  establishment 
to  North  Bridgewater  (now  Brockton)  where  he  founded  the  Gazette 
of  that  town. 

A  monthly  newspaper  called  the  Cape  Cod  News,  was  issued  in 
Provincetown,  though  printed  elsewhere,  the  first  number  bearing 
date  of  June,  1856,  A.  S.  Dudley  and  Rufus  Conant  publishers.  But 
few  numbers  were  issued. 

The  Provincetown  Banner  was  issued  in  1855,  by  John  W.  Emery, 
editor  and  proprietor.  It  was  a  24-column  journal,  republican  in  pol- 
itics, somewhat  radical  in  its  tone.  It  was  published  until  1862,  when 
it  was  discontinued  and  the  material  removed  from  town. 

In  August,  1857,  the  Atlantic  Messenger  was  established  at  Hyannis, 
by  Edwin  Coombs.  It  was  a  26-column  journal,  21  by  20  inches;  price 
$1.00  per  year.  It  was  devoted  to  anti-slavery,  politics  and  social  dis- 
cussions. It  was  once  or  twice  discontinued  and  started  again.  But 
the  encouragement  received  by  the  proprietor  was  not  sufficient  to 
sustain  the  enterprise,  and  the  concluding  number  was  issued  about 
the  year  1863. 

January  2,  1862,  the  first  number  of  the  Cape  Cod  Republican  was 
issued  at  Harwich,  by  John  W.  Emery,  formerly  of  the  Provincetown 
Banner,  the  printing  office  of  which  journal  had  been  removed  for  the 
purpose.  It  was  in  style  and  make-up  similar  to  the  Banner.  In  1864 
its  publication  was  discontinued  and  the  editor  obtained  employment 
in  Boston.  In  1864  Mr.  Emery  returned  to  Harwich  and  started  the 
Harwich  Press,  a  paper  similar  to  the  Republican.  In  less  than  a  year 
he  abandoned  the  field,  and  removed  to  Minnesota.  The  list  of  the 
Press  was  sold  to  the  proprietor  of  the  Yarmvuth  Register. 

The  Provincetown  Advocate  was  issued  in  1869,  by  F.  Percy  Goss, 
publisher.  Dr.  J.  M.  Crocker  was  editor  for  about  seven  years,  when 
Mr.  Goss  assumed  the  editorial  charge,  and  conducted  the  paper  for 
three  years  longer.  In  1879  H.  S.  Sylvester,  now  of  the  Boston  Record, 
purchased  an  interest  in  the  paper  and  conducted  it  for  a  year,  dis- 
posing of  his  interest  to  N.  T.  Freeman,  who  acquired  Mr.  Goss's  in- 
terest also.  In  December,  1886,  the  establishment  was  purchased  by 
Howard  F.  Hopkins,  who  has  since  been  its  publisher.  His  brother, 
Judge  James  H.  Hopkins,  has  edited  the  sheet  from  the  first. 

In  November,  1870,  the  Provincetown  News,  a  32-column  republican 
newspaper,  was  issued  by  J.  H.  Barnard  &  Co.,  with  J.  Howard  Bar- 
nard, editor.  The  price  of  the  paper  was  $2.50  per  year,  in  advance  ; 
$3.00  after  three  months.  At  the  end  of  four  months  the  enterprise 
was  given  up,  and  the  list  transferred  to  other  newspapers. 


262  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  Chatham  Monitor  was  first  issued  October  1, 1871,  at  the  Patriot 
office,  Dr.  Benjamin  D.  Gifford  being  the  editor.  It  was  devoted  to 
local  and  general  news,  and  was  republican  in  politics.  In  1873  Levi 
Atwood  assumed  the  editorship.  Mr.  Atwood  had  previously  been  a 
contributor  to  other  county  journals,  and  was  well  known  as  a  writer 
of  pith  and  vigor.     The  Monitor  is  still  continued  under  his  editorship. 

The  Cape  Cod  Bee  was  issued  in  1880,  at  the  Patriot  office,  F.  Percy 
Goss,  publisher.  It  is  a  local  journal,  being  more  especially  devoted 
to  Wellfleet  affairs.     In  politics  it  is  republican. 

About  1872  Messrs.  J.  H.  Nickles  and  William  C.  Spring  started 
the  Sandwich  Gazette,  which  was  afterwards  merged  with  the  Falmouth 
Chronicle,  which  Mr.  Spring  had  started  in  1872.  Henry  Jones  was  the 
Falmouth  editor.  Mr.  Spring  for  some  time  continued  the  paper,  un- 
der the  style  of  Gazette  and  Chronicle.  In  October,  1873,  F.  S.  Pope 
took  the  plant  of  the  Chronicle,  and  established  the  Seaside  Press,  de- 
voted to  the  local  interests  of  Sandwich  and  Falmouth.  J.  H.  Stevens 
was  editor,  and  Mr.  Jones  continued  in  charge  of  the  Falmouth  de- 
partment. In  1880,  Mr.  Pope  sold  out  his  interest  to  F.  H.  Burgess, 
who  changed  the  name  to  Weekly  Review,  with  Benjamin  Cook  as  edi- 
tor for  a  time.  In  1884,  Mr.  Burgess  sold  out  his  interest  to  George 
Otis,  and  the  list  was  merged  with  the  Cape  Cod  Item. 

The  Harwich  Independent  was  established  in  1872,  by  Goss  &  Rich- 
ards, of  the  Patriot,  the  paper  being  printed  in  Barnstable.  The  local 
department  was  put  in  type  at  a  job  office  which  the  publishers  had 
set  up  in  Harwich.  The  editorial  writing  for  the  first  few  years  was 
by  Mr.  Wilcox,  Josiah  Paine  and  Dr.  Geo.  N.  Munsell.  In  1880  Alton 
P.  Goss  purchased  the  establishment,  added  a  press  and  other  ma- 
chinery, and  put  the  paper  on  a  prosperous  basis.  The  leanings  of 
the  paper  are  towards  republicanism,  but  the  Independent  is  more  es- 
pecially a  local  journal,  in  which  field  it  has  achieved  a  good  degree 
of  success. 

The  Cape  Cod  Item  was  started  July  11,  1878,  at  Yarmouth  Port,  by 
George  Otis.  It  was  gradually  enlarged,  and  is  now  an  8-page  jour- 
nal, issuing  a  single  or  double  supplement  a  portion  of  the  year.  It 
was  at  first  devoted  to  local  and  general  news,  and  has  a  large  circu- 
lation and  advertising  patronage.  In  1889,  William  P.  Reynolds,  Esq., 
was  associated  with  Mr.  Otis  in  the  editorship,  and  the  paper  now 
espouses  the  republican  cause. 

77^1?  Mayflower  was  a  miscellaneous  and  story  journal,  published  by 
George  Otis  of  the  Item,  from  1881  to  1889.  It  had  a  large  circulation, 
but  the  price — 50  cents  per  year — was  inadequate  to  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction, and  its  list  was  merged  in  the  Yankee  Blade,  of  Boston,  in 
June,  1887.  The  Ocean  Wave,  an  eight-page  weekly,  was  issued  by 
George  Otis  from  October,  1888,  to  May,  1889. 


LITERATURE   AND   LITERARY   PEOPLE.  263 

The  Sandwich  Observer  (the  second  publication  by  that  name)  was 
issued  in  1884,  being  printed  at  the  Patriot  office,  and  edited  by  Am- 
brose E.  Pratt  of  Sandwich.  Mr.  Pratt  was  succeeded  about  1887,  by 
Frank  O.  Ellis,  who  still  has  charge  of  the  publication.  It  is  more  es- 
pecially devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  towns  of  Sandwich  and  Bourne, 
and  is  republican  in  politics. 

The  Falmouth  Local  was  established  by  Lewis  F.  Clarke,  who  issued 
the  first  number,  March  11, 1886.  It  was  a  three-column  folio,  printed 
one  page  at  a  time  on  a  job  press  in  the  building  now  the  Continental 
shoe  store.  At  the  close  of  1887  it  had  been  enlarged,  located  in  a 
new  office,  and  was  being  run  as  a  seven-column  folio,  from  a  steam- 
power  cylinder  press.  Since  December  8,  1887,  Ambrose  E.  Pratt 
of  Sandwich,  has  been  the  editor.  George  S.  Hudson  was  the 
printer  in  charge  from  September  1,  1886,  until  July,  1888,  when 
Thomas  Brady,  a  practical  printer  and  pressman,  became  manager  of 
the  press  and  composing  department.  It  is  issued  at  Falmouth  as  an 
eight-column  folio,  devoted  to  the  local  news  interests  of  the  several 
towns  of  the  upper  Cape  in  which  it  has  a  fair  patronage. 

The  Barnstable  County  Journal  was  issued  for  four  years  from 
January,  1886,  by  James  B.  Cook.  It  was  a  32-column  folio,  published 
at  $1.50  a  year.  In  politics  it  was  democratic — the  only  newspaper 
of  that  faith  in  the  county  of  Barnstable. 

February  17, 1887,William  R.  Farris,  George  R.  Phillips  and  Charles 
H.  Crowell  issued  the  first  number  of  the  Cape  Cod  News,  at  South  Yar- 
mouth. It  was  a  small  twenty-column  paper,  devoted  to  local  intelli- 
gence. In  July,  1888,  the  list  was  sold  to  George  Otis  and  absorbed 
by  the  Item. 

Two  later  candidates  for  the  favor  of  newspaper  readers — the 
Wellfleet  News  and  the  Sandwich  Review  were  issued  November  12, 
1889,  by  the  proprietor  of  the  Item.  They  are  eight-page  papers,  de- 
voted to  miscellany  and  the  local  news  of  the  respective  towns.  The 
News  is  written  up  by  Mrs.  A.  H.  Rogers  and  the  Review  by  N.  E. 
Linekin. 

Besides  the  news  journals,  several  monthly  publications  have  been 
issued  by  the  pupils  of  the  public  schools.  The  Academy  Breezes  was 
for  two  or  three  years  issued  by  the  scholars  of  the  Sandwich  High 
school.  For  about  six  years,  the  pupils  of  the  Harwich  High  school 
have  published  a  little  sheet  called  the  Pine  Grove  Echoes.  The  pupils 
of  the  Bourne  High  school,  since  April,  1888,  have  issued  monthly, 
the  High  School  Graphic,  a  sheet  containing  many  creditable  articles. 
These  publications  have  developed  a  considerable  degree  of  writing 
ability,  and  are  doing  a  good  work  in  their  special  fields. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH. 


Location  and  Description. — Settlement  and  Early  Growth. — Domestic  Affairs — Acces- 
sion of  Settlers. — Listof  Inhabitants  in  1730. — Continued  Advancement. — Firing  the 
Woods. — The  Town's  Poor. — The  Revolutionary  Period. — The  Present  Century. — 
Villages.  — Civil  History.  — Churches.  — Schools.  — Societies.  — Cemeteries. — Biograph- 
ical Sketches. 


THE  history  of  Sandwich  as  a  white  man's  settlement  now  covers 
a  period  of  253  years  embracing  48  years  preceding  the  forma- 
tion of  Barnstable  county.  Prior  to  1654  the  records  of  the 
proprietors  are  meagre  and  nearly  illegible,  but  the  events  recorded 
are  those  common  to  the  early  history  of  the  plantations  of  Plymouth 
colony,  and  are  fraught  with  the  domestic  incidents  and  names  so  rev- 
erently preserved  by  the  present  generation.  Notwithstanding  the 
records  prior  to  1884  embrace  also  the  history  of  Bourne,  the  compil- 
ation of  the  history  of  the  settlement  and  growth  of  Sandwich  will 
be  confined  to  the  territory  now  encompassed  within  its  bounds,  so 
far  as  a  careful  research  into  the  musty  pages  of  the  past  may  render 
the  facts  separable. 

Sandwich  is  the  second  town  on  the  north  side  of  the  Cape  from 
the  main  land,  fronting  for  several  miles  on  Cape  Cod  bay,  which 
forms  its  northern  boundary.  The  peculiar  rhomboidal  shape  of 
the  town  from  the  line  of  the  bay  renders  its  boundary  compli- 
cated. Barnstable  forms  the  eastern  boundary,  extending  from  near 
Scorton  harbor  southwesterly  to  the  northeast  corner  of  Mashpee ; 
the  towns  forming  the  southern  boundary  are  Falmouth  and  Mash- 
pee, the  latter  also  being  the  eastern  boundary  for  the  southwestern 
portion  of  Sandwich ;  and  Bourne  forms  the  western  according  to 
the  division  line  of  1884  described  in  the  chapter  on  that  town. 
The  area  of  Sandwich  within  the  perimeter  given  is  20,965  acres, 
the  surface  of  which,  excepting  the  salt  marshes  along  the  bay, 
presents  a  beautiful  diversity  of  undulations  in  which  hills  and 
downs  blend  in  pleasing  variety.  The  valleys  contain  ponds  and 
rivulets.  The  central  and  southern  portions  of  the  town  are  still 
covered  with  large  tracts  of   woods   affording  game  of   the  smaller 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH.  265 

sort.    The  soil  is  a  sandy  loam  on  the  elevations,  and  a  fertile  allu- 
vium around  the  ponds  and  in  the  valleys. 

The  ponds  are  numerous,  the  larger  ones  being  Peter's,  containing 
176  acres;  Spectacle,  of  151  acres;  Triangle,  84;  Snake,  76;  and  Law- 
rence, 70.  The  smaller  ponds  worthy  of  mention  are  Ellis,  of  26 
acres;  Mill,  southwest  of  Sandwich  village,  47;  Weeks,  12;  and  two  at 
East  Sandwich,  of  12  acres  each.  Of  these  ponds  only  one  has  a  vis- 
ible outlet;  the  one  southwest  of  the  village  supplies  Mill  river  with 
power  for  mills.  Wakeby  pond,  connected  with  the  Mashpee,  is  par- 
tially surrounded  by  the  territory  of  Sandwich. 

The  inhabitants  have  always  paid  much  attention  to  agricultural 
and  mechanical  pursuits,  and  less  than  do  those  of  the  neighboring 
towns  to  maritime  employments.  Besides  the  culture  of  the  usual 
crops  large  quantities  of  cranberries  are  successfully  raised  in  every 
part.  Orchards  of  all  kinds  are  a  source  of  profit.  Fishing  is  one  of 
the  occupations  of  the  residents,  but  not  a  large  amount  of  shipping 
is  owned  and  that  small,  only  sufficient  for  home  pursuits.  The  har- 
bors, too  small  for  important  commerce  and  large  shipping,  are  ade- 
quate for  the  wants  of  the  town,  and  this  fact  has  assisted  in  deter- 
mining the  prevailing  occupations  of  its  people. 

The  territory  of  Sandwhich,  prior  to  1637,  was  embraced  in  the 
unsettled  portions  of  the  vast  tract  granted  to  William  Bradford  and 
his  associates  then  called  the  council  of  Plymouth,  and  to  this  coun- 
cil the  people  of  the  town  were  subject,  especially  in  the  affairs  of  the 
church.  No  person  was  permitted  "  to  live  or  inhabit  within  the 
Government  of  New  Plymouth  without  the  leave  and  liking  of  the 
Governor  and  his  assistants."  No  laws  had  been  made  touching 
political  and  civil  rights  until  November  15,  1636.  A  civil  power — 
not  church  government — was  then  needed  to  prevent  and  correct  a 
conflict  of  interests  in  the  growing  colony.  Then  it  was  enacted 
that  annually  an  election  should  be  held,  "  but  confined  to  such  as 
shall  be  admitted  as  freemen,"  to  whom  a  stringent  oath  was  pre- 
scribed; and  none  were  to  be  admitted  but  such  as  were  "  orthodox 
in  the  fundamentals  of  religion,  and  possessed  of  a  ratable  estate  of 
twenty  pounds."  The  idea  was  inculcated  that  colonies  could  be  es- 
tablished with  the  right  of  representation,  which  was  an  incentive  to 
the  enterprising  to  seek  other  lands.  Historians  assert,  that  religious 
considerations  also  led  the  ten  Saug^s  (Lynn)  pioneers  to  seek  this 
first  plantation  of  the  Cape.  Whatever  their  motives,  after  delibera- 
tion they  concluded  that  the  Plymouth  colony  could  be  no  more 
stringent  than  the  Massachusetts,  nor  present  more  obstacles  to  their 
aspirations;  so  they  sought  and  obtained  permission  from  the  colony 
of  Plymouth  to  locate  a  plantation  at  Shaume,  now  Sandwich.  The 
record  says:  "  April  3,  1637,  it  is  also  agreed  by  the  Court  that  these 


266  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ten  men  of  SaugTis,  viz.,  Edmund  Freeman,  Henry  Feake,  Thomas 
Dexter,  Edward  Dillingham,  William  Wood,  John  Carman,  Richard 
Chadwell,  William  Almy,  Thomas  Tupper,  and  George  Knott,  shall 
have  liberty  to  view  a  place  to  sit  down,  and  have  sufficient  lands  for 
three-score  families,  upon  the  conditions  propounded  to  them  by  the 
governor  and  Mr.  Winslow." 

That  year  these  men  except  Thomas  Dexter,  who  came  subsequent- 
ly, settled  with  their  families  in  and  near  that  part  of  the  town  now 
occupied  by  the  village  of  Sandwich.  Within  four  years  fifty  others 
from  Lynn,  Duxbury  and  Plymouth  came,  many  bringing  their  fam- 
ilies, aod-the  "  three-score,"  as  permitted,  appear  on  the  proprietors' 
records  in  1641.  The  fifty  iater-comers  were:  George  Allen,  Thomas 
Armitage,  Anthony  Besse,  Mr.  Blakemore,  George  Bliss,  Thomas 
Boardman,  Robert  Bodfish,  Richard  Bourne,  William  Bray  brook,  John 
Briggs,  Richard  Kerby,  John  King,  Thomas  Landers,  Mr.  Leverich, 
John  Miller,  William  Newland,  Benjamin  Nye,  George  Buitt,  Thomas 
Burge,  Thomas  Butler,  Tho.  Chillingsworth,  Edmund  Clarke,  George 
Cole,  John  Dingley,  Henry  Ewer,  John  Fish,  Jonathan  Fish,  Mr.  Pot- 
ter, James  Skiffe,  George  Slawson,  Michael  Turner,  John  Vincent, 
Richard  Wade,  Thomas  Willis,  Nathaniel  Fish,  John  Friend,  Peter 
Gaunt,  Andrew  Hallett,  Thomas  Hampton,  William  Harlow,  William 
Hedge,  Joseph  Holway,  William  Hurst,  John  Joyce,  John  WLag,  Mr. 
Winsor,  Mr.  WoUaston,  Anthony  Wright,  Nicholas  Wright,  and  Peter 
Wright.  Changes  occurred  early  in  the  population— some  returning, 
others  seeking  lands  eastward  on  the  Cape,  and  others  arriving — but 
of  these  60  families  under  66  different  names,  after  250  years  the  tax 
roll  of  the  town  contains  16. 

The  colonial  powers  made  stringent  laws  for  these  early  settlers 
who  soon  learned  that  laws  were  not  placed  upon  the  statute  books 
for  ornament;  for  the  court  record  of  1638  says  "Richard  Bourne 
fined  for  not  ringing  3  pigs;  John  Carman.  1  sow  and  11  pigS;  Thos. 
Tupper,  6  swine;  Thos.  Armitage,  2  swine  ";  and  at  another  court  the 
same  year  "John  Burge,  Peter  Gaunt.  Richard  Chadwell,  Edward 
Freeman,  Richard  Kerby,  Robert  Bodfish  and  John  Dingley  were 
fined  "  for  the  similar  neglect.  It  would  seem  incredible  that  pigs 
could  have  then  done  damage;  but  the  law  required  the  pigs  of  the 
remotest  plantations  of  the  colony  to  wear  rings  in  the  nose,  and  the 
owner,  for  this  direliction,  must  needs  go  to  Plymouth  to  answer  in 
court.  During  the  same  year  Henry  Ewer  and  his  wife  were  ordered 
to  depart  from  Sandwich  for  some  violation  of  -law,  and  "  Mr.  Skeffe 
is  required  to  send  them  back  because  he  encouraged  their  coming." 

How  this  sentence  terminated  does  not  appear ;  but  many  of  his 
descendants  succeeded  him  and  the  name  still  exists  in  all  respecta- 
bility.   The  same  court  deemed  it  necessary  that  the  land  in  Sand- 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH.  267 

wich  should  be  defined  and  allotted  -with  all  convenient  speed,  and 
for  this  purpose  directed  Mr.  Alden  and  Miles  Standish  to  proceed  at 
once  to  that  plantation.  This  was  done  in  1638  and  afterward  recorded 
in  the  proprietors'  records  ;  but  from  these  records  no  intelligible  de- 
scription of  these  allotments  can  be  made ;  and  if  descibed  as  the  records 
read,  the  lapse  of  time  has  so  nearly  effaced  the  landmarks  named  by 
the  old  surveyors — the  marked  trees,  the  stakes  and  stones,  even  the 
rocks  themselves — that  with  the  record  alone  not  a  single  property 
could  now  be  correctly  bounded ;  but  there  are  several  estates  both 
here  and  in  Bourne  now  owned  by  the  descendants  of  the  pioneers, 
and  thus  a  few  of  the  original  tracts  can  be  approximately  located. 

The  rigid  surveillance  of  the  court  over  the  disposal  of  lands  to 
persons  considered  unfit,  was  continued  for  some  years,  and  in  a  meas- 
ure perhaps  retarded  the  growth  of  the  settlement ;  but  in  1643,  four 
years  after  Sandwich  had  been  clothed  with  the  dignity  of  a  town,  the 
following,  between  the  ages  of  16  and  60,  were  enrolled  as  liable  ta 
bear  arms:  Francis  Allen,  George  Allen  jr.,  Matthew  Allen,  Ralph 
Allen,  Samuel  Allen,  John  Bell,  Edmund  Berry,  Anthony  Bessy,  Miles 
Black,  John  Blakemore,  Thomas  Boardman,  Robert  Bodfish,  Richard 
Bourne,  George  Buitt,  Richard  Burgess,  Thomas  Burgess  sr.,  Thomas- 
Burgess  jr.,  Thomas  Butler,  Richard  Chadwell,  Edmund  Clark,  Henry 
Cole,  Edward  Dillingham,  Henry  Dillingham,  John  Dinglej',  John 
Ellis,  Henry  Feake,  John  Fish,  Jonathan  Fish,  Nathaniel  Fish,  Ed- 
mund Freeman  sr.,  Edmund  Freeman  jr.,  John  Freeman,  Peter  Gaunt, 
Thomas  Gibbs,  John  Green,  Thomas  Greenfield,  Joseph  Holway,  Peter 
Hanbury,  John  Johnson,  Thomas  Johnson,  John  Jo5'ce,  Richard  Kerby, 
George  Knott,  Thomas  Landers,  Mr.  William  Leverich,  John  Newland, 
William  Newland,  Thomas  Nichols,  Benjamin  Nye,  John  Presbury, 
Henry  Sanderson,  Henry  Stephen,  Thos.  Shillingsworth,  James  Skiflf, 
William  Swift,  Thomas  Tupper,  Michael  Turner,  John  Vincent,  Na- 
thaniel Willis,  Lawrence  Willis,  Joseph  Winsor,  Daniel  Wing.  John 
Wing,  Stephen  Wing,  William  Wood,  Anthony  Wright,  Nicholas 
Wright,  Peter  Wright. 

The  towns  of  the  colony  were  required  in  1664  to  procure  books 
for  recording  divisions  and  purchases  of  land,  after  which  the  records 
of  Sandwich  were  more  properly  kept.  The  reader  has  been  given 
the  names  of  the  heads  of  the  original  three-score  families  and  the 
military  roll  which  included  the  young  men ;  now  after  the  lapse  of 
a  few  years,  when  the  records,  bounding  each  freeman's  land  have 
been  arranged,  we  find  the  following  named  persons  had  land  in  ad- 
dition to  those  alluded  to:  Jedediah  Allen,  William  Allen,  William 
Bassett,  Nehemiah  Bessie,  Job  Bourne,  Michael  Blackwell,  John  Bod- 
fish, Samuel  Briggs,  Jacob  Burge,  Joseph  Burge,  Ambrose  Fish,  John 


268  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Gibbs,  William  Gifford,  Robert  Haqjer,  Edward  Hoxie,  Lodo.  Hoxie, 
John  Jenkins,  James  Skiff  jr.,  Isaac  Turner,  and  Thomas  Tobey  sr. 

These,  with  those  previously  named,  comprised  the  settlers  of 
Sandwich  as  found  by  the  records  during  the  first  twenty  years. 
Some  had  sought  other  homes  on  the  Cape,  during  the  time,  but 
where,  no  mention  is  given.  The  population  of  Sandwich  in  the  year 
1764  was  1,449  ;  in  1776  it  was  1,912 ;  in  1790,  1,991 ;  1800,  2,024 ;  1810, 
2,382;  1820,  2,884;  1830,  3,367;  1840,  3,719;  1860,  4,181;  1860,  4,479; 
1870,  3,694;  1875,  3,417;  1880,  3,543;  and  in  1886,  after  the  incorpora- 
tion  of  Bourne,  the  population  was  2,124,  of  whom  666  were  voters. 

The  Sandwich  settlement  was  not  beyond  the  social  reach  of 
the  Plymouth  people,  for  it  is  recorded  that  William  Paddy,  a  mer- 
chant of  Plymouth,  on  the  28th  of  November,  1639,  took  in  wedlock 
one  of  its  fair  daughters.  No  doubt  this  marriage  was  legally  con- 
tracted and  completed  ;  for  the  court  yet  had  stringent  laws  regard- 
ing the  intercourse  between  young  people,  and  as  late  as  1648  a  citi- 
zen of  Sandwich  was  fordidden  to  show  attention  to  a  certain  female 
"  until  the  court  can  better  discern  the  truth  of  his  pretensions." 

A  deed  of  the  plantation  was  executed  in  1661  confirming  the 
former  grant,  the  conditions  of  which  had  been  fulfilled  by  the  pro- 
prietors. These  held  lands  in  common,  to  be  used  jointly  and  to  con- 
vey to  New-Comers  who  might  be  qualified  to  become  freemen.  A 
man  could  become  a  freeman,  entitled  to  hold  land  and  vote,  but  his 
orthodoxy  constituted  his  fitness ;  and  even  the  proprietors  must  have 
permission  from  the  court  for  certain  desired  privileges,  as  we  find 
in  1644  that  George  Allen  was  "  licensed  to  cut  hay  at  the  ponds  be- 
yond Sandwich  plains."  These  restrictions  were  removed  a  few  years 
later. 

The  proprietor's  records,  year  after  year,  show  increase  in  the 
cares  of  a  growing  town.  The  town  neck — that  portion  east  of  the 
harbor — had  been  used  in  common  as  pasturage,  but  in  1662  it  was 
thought  best,  to  use  its  luxuriant  grass  for  young  cattle,  and  March  12, 
it  was  "  agreed  that  the  Town  Neck  still  be  used  for  pasturage,  from 
1  May  to  Oct.  4,  but  that  no  cattle  except  calves  shall  be  put  in  without 
the  consent  of  the  town."  The  town  neck  is  still  held  in  shares  by  the 
descendants  of  the  proprietors  or  by  purchasers,  being  60  shares  of 
two  acres  each. 

\  Whaling  was  quite  actively  engaged  in  by  the  people  of  the  colo- 
nies, and  the  wounded  whales,  often  escaping  and  dying,  would  float 
to  the  north  shore  of  the  town.  Grampus  and  other  large  fish  would 
also  be  stranded  on  the  flats  by  the  receding  tides,  and  as  early  as 
1662  it  was  "  ordered  that  Edmund  Freeman,  Edward  Perry,  George 
Allen,  Daniel  Wing,  John  Ellis,  and  Thomas  Tobey,  these  six  men, 
shall  take  care  of  all  the  fish  that  Indians  shall  cut  up  within  the  limits 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH. 


269 


of  the  town  so  as  to  provide  safety  for  it,  and  shall  dispose  of  the  fish 
for  the  town's  use ;  also  that  if  any  man  that  is  an  inhabitant  shall 
find  a  whale  and  report  to  any  of  these  six  men,  he  shall  have  a  double 
share ;  and  that  these  six  men  shall  take  care  to  provide  laborers  and 
whatever  is  needful,  so  that  whatever  whales  either  white  men  or  In- 
dians gives  notice  of,  they  may  dispose  of  the  proceeds  to  the  town's 
use  to  be  divided  equally  to  every  inhabitant."  This  was  found  to  be 
a  source  of  considerable  income  to  the  town,  and  soon  after  the  court 
at  Plymouth  enacted  that  one  barrel  of  oil  from  every  whale  be  given 
to  them,  which  was  acceded  to ;  but  this  whaling  on  land  gradually 
declined  as  the  whalers  at  sea  became  more  proficient. 

Among  other  duties  of  the  year  1662  the  town  appointed  "Anthony 
Thacher,  Wm.  Bassett,  Jonathan  Hatch,  John  Finny,  James  Skeff, 
Henry  Dillingham,  John  Ellis,  John  Wing,  Jos.  Rogers,  Edw.  Bangs, 
Wm.  Hedge,  Thomas  Hinckley,  and  Thomas  Dexter,"  as  a  committee 
to  attend  to  the  laying  out  of  a  road  from  Sandwich  to  Plymouth, 
which  is  now  a  portion  of  the  county  road.  The  road  had  not  been 
completed  two  years  later,  for  in  1664  both  "  Plymouth  and  Sandwich 
were  presented  for  not  having  the  country  highway  between  these 
places  cleared  so  as  to  be  passable  by  man  and  horse."  The  difficul- 
ties of  the  passage  and  the  distance  to  Plymouth  to  have  the  town's 
grain  ground  induced  Thomas  Dexter  to  negotiate  with  the  proprie- 
tors to  build  a  mill  in  1664,  and  "  the  town  gave  full  power  to  Edward 
Dillingham  and  Richard  Bourne  to  agree  with  sd  Dexter  to  go  on 
and  build  the  mill."  But  this  project  failed,  and  "  John  Ellis,  Wm. 
Swift,  Wm.  Allen,  and  James  Skeflf  were  engaged  to  build  a  mill,  the 
town  paying  ;^20."  This  sum  was  subscribed  by  22  of  the  freemen 
and  the  mill  was  completed  early  in  1666  ;  the  records  say  for  May  18, 
"  The  town  hath  agreed  with  Matthew  Allen  to  grind  and  have  the 
toll  for  his  pains." 

Dexter's  determination  to  build  a  grist  mill  led  him  to  again  agree 
to  erect  one,  if  the  town  "  would  allow  him  6  pts.  per  bush,  toll ;  he  to 
build  and  maintain  the  mill  and  dam  and  all  other  things  thereto  be- 
longing; and  to  provide  a  miller  at  his  own  cost."  This  agreement 
was  entered  into  1655,  but  the  mill  was  not  completed  until  later,  and 
Dexter's  toll  dish  continued  to  grow  in  dimensions  until  its  unlawful 
size  caused  the  appointment  by  the  selectmen  of  Goodman  Chadwell, 
Edmund  Freeman  and  Thomas  Tobey,  "to  agree  with  Thos.  Dexter, 
jr.,  for  the  grinding  of  the  town's  corn  ;  and  if  they  fail  to  agree  then 
12  acres  of  the  land  at  the  river  that  comes  out  of  the  pond  at  the 
head  of  Benj.  Nye's  marsh,  shall  be  granted  to  any  other  of  the  towns- 
men that  will  set  up  a  mill."  Dexter's  toll  dish  not  shrinking  in  size, 
the  land  promised  by  the  town  was  laid  off  at  Little  pond  furnishing 
a  mill,  and  a  toll  dish  under  the  town's  control.    This  last  mill  was 


^70  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

doubtless  at  Spring  hill,  and  was  erected  in  1669.  The  obligations  of 
Mr.  Dexter  to  the  town,  or  how  far  he  could  control  his  toll  is  not  ex- 
plained in  the  records  only  as  heretofore  mentioned.  Nor  was  the 
future  of  the  old  mill  a  subject  of  action  for  the  selectmen  for  many 
years. 

A  copy  of  a  deed  under  date  of  1668,  transcribed  from  records  at 
Plymouth  is  now  in  possession  of  the  Nye  Brothers,  who  occupy  the 
Thomas  Dexter  property.      James   Skeff,  jr.,  that  year  sold  it  to 
Thomas  Dexter,  sr.,  for  ;^16,  part  to  be  paid  in  money,  the  remainder 
in  cattle  and  corn.      Messrs.  Holway,  Burgess,  Sears,  the  Sandwich 
Savings  Bank,  and  later  B.  F.  Brackett  (now  deceased)  were  in- 
terested in  the  title  down  to  1879,  when  William  L.  Nye  and  Levi  S. 
Nye  became  the  occupants  as  Mr.  Brackett's  tenants.  The  old  mill  did 
more  or  less  service  until  1881,  when  from  its  antiquity  it  was  excused 
irom  grinding  the  little  corn  that  occasionally  came.      The  rude  hop- 
per and  gearings,  now  dismantled,  are  a  faithful  memento  of  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  fathers  of  the  present  generations.    The  old  undershot 
water  wheel  on  the  side  was  long  ago  replaced  by  a  turbine;  and  early 
in  the  present  century  a  woolen  factory  was  erected  on  the  east  of  the 
_grist  mill.    This  was  used  for  carding  and  cloth-dressing  until  1830, 
when  it  was  taken  down.      Upon  this  site' later,  the  present  building 
was  erected  for  a  marble  works,  sawing  the  blocks  of  marble  below 
and  finishing  the  slabs  in  the  rooms  above,  which  work  was  in  turn 
•discontinued  about  1859  or  '60.      After  two  or  three  years  L.  B.  Nye 
leased  this  building,  where  he  carried  on  wheelwrighting  and  pound- 
ring  clay  for  the  Cape  Cod  Glass  Works  until  1871;  Levi  S.  Nye  manu- 
factured jewelers'  boxes  here  until  1876;  and  in  1879  the  present  ac- 
tive business  of  making  and  printing  tags  was  inaugurated  by  the 
Nye  Brothers,  furnishing  employment  for  several  persons  in  the  fac- 
tory and  a  much  larger  number  outside. 

The  fact,  that  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  much  evil,  is  older 
than  the  old  mill;  and  that  some  in  the  generation  of  which  we  write 
should  be  tempted  beyond  their  powers  of  resistance,  was  as  natural 
-as  the  turning  of  the  mill-wheel  under  a  head  of  water.     But  the  re- 
cords of  that  time  contain  other  than  mill-toll  temptations,  and  the 
-charitable  manner  in  which  the  fathers  recorded  them  indicates  that 
they  were  only  ripples  on  the  smooth  sea  of  justice.      In  1667  Joseph 
Burge  was  fined  £1,  "  for  disorderly  helping  away  horses  out  of  the 
-colony  ";  and  later,  in  1669,  a  shirt  having  been  stolen  was  found  in 
the  possession  of  a  person  who  claimed  to  have  purchased  it  of  an  In- 
dian; this  person  was  required  "  to  look  up  the  Indian,"  and  to  give 
him  ample  time  to  do  so,  he  was  bound  over  for  a  term.     It  is  just  to 
-say  that  irregularities  of  this  kind  were  rare  and  records  of  no  others 
.are  to  be  found  on  the  town's  books  of  those  days. 


TOWN  OF   SANDWICH.  271 

The  maturing  crops  of  wheat  and  corn  dotted  the  knolls  of  the 
northern  portion  of  Sandwich  at  the  time  of  which  we  write,  and  to 
the  inhabitants  these  were  of  great  value.  The  sheep  husbandry  had 
also  become  important  in  the  wants  of  the  town;  but  both  industries 
had  their  enemies.  The  blackbirds  from  the  marshes  and  the  wolves 
from  the  woods  south  and  west  of  the  settlement  gave  occasion  for 
the  order  in  1672  "  that  all  misters  of  families  and  all  young  men 
that  are  at  their  own  disposing,  shall  kill  or  cause  to  be  killed  one 
dozen  of  black-birds."  The  amount  paid  for  wolves'  scalps  was  from 
6s.  to  £l  each  according  to  size.  These  exactions  and  bounties  were 
continued  for  many  years  until  the  necessity  was  removed.  The 
sheep  husbandry  attained  its  greatest  importance  in  the  early  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  the  town  erecting  yards  in  various  parts,  over 
which  shepherds  were  placed.  After  about  1730  it  declined  as  rapidly 
as  it  had  advanced.  The  activity  and  policy  of  the  town  exterminated 
the  wolves  before  1800,  for  they  were  reduced  to  one  several  years 
previous.  The  records  of  January  19, 1790,  say  that  the  town  "  offered 
a  bounty  of.  ;{r25  to  any  one  who  shall  kill  the  wolf,  catamount  or  tiger 
infesting  this  and  the  neighboring  towns  and  destroying  sheep."  This 
bounty  was  increased  in  March  of  the  same  year  to  £30,  and  at  the 
same  time  it  was  ordered,  that  if  the  committee  to  whom  this  matter 
was  referred,  thought  it  expedient  to  have  a  general  muster  of  the  in- 
habitants to  secure  the  depredator,  then  every  able-bodied  man  should 
be  called  to  engage  in  the  duty. 

These  were  not  the  only  clouds  to  shadow  the  people  of  Sandwich; 
for  in  1676  Ralph  Allen  and  Stephen  Skiff  were  appointed  "  to  carry 
the  town's  mind  to  Barnstable,  that  the  towns  may  know  each  others 
minds  in  reference  to  the  bringing  of  some  of  the  people  of  the  out- 
towns,  among  us."  This  action  of  the  town  indicated  the  solicitude 
occasioned  by  the  war  of  King  Philip  for  those  dwelling  in  more  un- 
protected towns.  The  doors  of  the  houses  were  opened  for  those  in 
danger,  and  watch  was  kept  by  the  town  lest  the  Indians  of  the  Cape 
should  be  induced  to  commit  depredations  as  they  were  urged  to  do. 
Sandwich  by  money  and  men  responded  to  every  call  of  the  colonial 
government  in  this  war,  which  has  been  mentioned  in  chapter  VI. 

While  the  town  was  thus  active  in  its  domestic  affairs,  accessions 
had  been  made  to  its  territory  by  the  New  Comers,  and  the  boun- 
dary lines  that  had  been  established  on  the  east  in  1669  and  in 
1686,  were  readjusted,  substantially  where  they  now  are,  by  the  se- 
lectmen of  Sandwich  and  Barnstable  in  1702.  The  bounds  between 
Falmouth  and  Sandwich  were  established  the  same  year,  and  be- 
tween Sandwich  and  Mashpee  in  1705  by  agents  appointed  for  the 
purpose.  In  1887  the  legislature  established  the  present  straighter 
line  of  separation  between  Sandwich  and  Mashpee.    While  its  ter- 


272  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ritory    had    been    somewhat    increased,    the    bounds    defined,  and 
peaceable  title  secured,  accessions  had  also  been  made  to  its  settlers 
as  the  years  rolled  on  and  the  eighteenth  century  dawned  upon  the 
settlement.    The  first  "  three-score  families  "  prior  to  1641  have  been 
named;  the  deaths, removals  and  new  arrivals  which  had  occurred  in 
the  plantation  are  plainly  indicated  by  the  training  list  and  the  names 
of  the  resident  freemen  in  1654, — the  year  the  recording  of  their  names 
was  first  required  by  law.     No  accurate  list  of  further  changes  in  the 
settlers  can  be  given  until  1730,  when  Mr.  Fessenden,  many  years  a 
pastor  among  the  people,  made  a  list  of  136  heads  of  families — exclu- 
sive of  Quakers — the  then  residents  of  the  town.    After  this  lapse  of 
nearly  a  century  from  the  settlement,  the  changes  would  naturally 
be  great ;  the  original  settlers  had  passed  away  and  their  descendants 
were  occupying  the  patrimony ;   others  had  arrived ;   and  as  many 
were  not  freemen  their  names  have  not  appeared  in  the  lists  hereto- 
fore given.     But  by  appending  the  names  given  by  Mr.  Freeman,  a 
comparison  of  all,  each  with  the  other,  the  reader  will  recognize  the 
names  of  the  settlers  of  Sandwich  during  the  first  century  of  its  settle- 
ment and  growth.   The  names  in  this  list  of  1730  were:  James  Atkins. 
Samuel  Barlow,  Samuel  Barber,  Thomas  Burgess,  Lieutenant  William 
Bassett,  Nathan  Barlow,  Peleg  Barlow  and  Eliza  his  wife,  Nathan 
Bourne  and  Mary  his  wife,  Eleazer  Bourne,  Jonathan  Bourne,  Dea.  Tim- 
othy Bourne  and  Temperance  his  wife,  John  Blackwell  and  Lydia  his 
wife,  Silas  Bourne,  Colonel  Methia  Bourne,  John  Barlow,  Ezra  Bourne, 
John  Bodfish,  Jacob  Burge, Samuel  Blackwell,  Micah  Blackwell,  Joshua 
Blackwell,  sr.,  jr.  and  3d;  John  Chipman,  Edward  Dillingham,  sr.,  Sim- 
eon Dillingham,  Solomon  Davis,  Richard  Essex,  Nathaniel  Fish,  John 
Ellis  and  Sarah  his  wife,  Josiah  Ellis  and  Sarah  his  wife.  Lieuten- 
ant Matthias  Ellis,  sr.,  Malachi  Ellis,  Moses  Swift,  jr.,   Seth  Fish,. 
John  Freeman,  John  Foster,  Joseph  Foster,  John  Fish,  sr.,  John  Fish, 
jr.,  Benjamin  Freeman,  Widow  Freeman,  William  Freeman,  Edmund 
Freeman,  Benjamin  Gibbs,  Widow  Gibbs,  Cornelius  Gibbs,  Richard 
Garrett,  Thomas  Gibbs,  sr.  and  jr.,  Samuel  Gibbs,  sr.  and  jr.,  Sylves- 
ter Gibbs,  Hannibal  Handy,  Isaac  and  John  Handy,  Cornelius  and 
Zaccheus  Handy,  Richard  Handy,  Ebenezer  Howland,  Joseph  Hatch^ 
Thomas   Hicks,  Isaac  Jennings,  Samuel  Jennings,  Shubael  Jones, 
Ralph  Jones,  jr.,  Joseph  Lawrence,  Samuel  Lawrence,  Richard  Lan- 
ders. John  and  Nathan  Landers,  Widow  Morton,  Nathan  Nye,  William 
Newcomb  and  Bath  his  wife,  Joseph,  Timothy,  Peleg,  Samuel,  Benja- 
min, Jonathan,  Ebenezer,  and  Nathan  Nye,  jr.,  Joseph  Nye,  sr.,  Seth 
Pope,  sr.  and  jr..  Widow  Pope,  and  the  following  Perry's:    John,  jr., 
Samuel,  Elisha,  Benjamin,  Benjamin,  jr..    Widow  Perry,  Timothy, 
Elijah,  John,  Ezra,  Ezra,  jr.,  Abner,  Samuel,  jr.,  and  Ebenezer  Perry; 
Elkanah  Smith,  John  and  Samuel  Smith,  Seth  Stewart,  Samuel  Swift,. 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  273 

Ephriam  Swift  and  Sarah  his  wife,  Moses  Swift,  Jabez  and  Abigail 
his  wife,  Samuel  Sanders,  Captain  Stephen  Swift,  Gamaliel  Stew- 
art, Samuel  Swift,  jr.,  Josiah  Swift,  Jireh  Swift,  Joseph  Swift,  Jona- 
than Tobey,  Nathan  and  Cornelius  Tobey,  Gers.  om  Tobey,  Medad 
Tupper,  Eliakim  and  Eldad  Tobey,  Dea.  Israel  Tupper  and  wife 
Eliza,  John  Tobey  sr.  and  jr.,  Eleazer  and  William  Tobey,  Samuel 
and  Seth  Tobey,  John  Vilking,  Nathaniel  Wing,  Widow  Wing,  Eben- 
ezer  Wing. 

Returning  to  the  details  of  the  advancement  of  the  town  it  is 
found  by  the  records  that  the  inhabitants  had  not  been  idle.  Leave 
had  been  given  "to  certain  persons  to  box  and  milk  two  thousand 
pine  trees,  for  two  years,  £'i  to  be  paid  to  the  town  for  the  use."  This 
was  in  1707;  and  in  1717  leave  was  given  "to  sundry  persons  to  set 
up  a  saw-mill  upon  the  brook  at  Spring  Hill ;"  also  to  others  the  priv- 
ilege to  build  a  dam  across  the  cove  between  town  neck  and  the 
beach  to  prevent  the  overflow  of  the  meadows.  '  The  remains  of  this 
dam  are  yet  visible — a  suggestion  of  future  cranberry  bogs.  Again 
in  1742  Samuel  Wing  was  voted  "  the  liberty  to  erect  a  grist  mill  on 
Spring-hill  river ;  "  and  another  law  enacted  by  the  town  the  same 
year  "  ordered  that  a  passage  be  made  into  the  pond  in  the  centre  of 
the  town,  for  herrings." 

Another  custom  of  the  proprietors,  would,  if  followed,  be  a  cause 
of  alarm  at  the  present  day  ;  it  was  that  of  firing  the  words.  At  the 
town  meeting  held  March  21, 1754,  forty -two  men  were  appointed  "  to 
fire  the  woods  before  Apr.  16."  To  the  reader  it  may  appear  strange 
that  the  custom  of  firing  the  woods  prevailed  here  as  late  as  160  years 
ago.  When  this  territory  was  settled  the  forest  was  composed  of  larger 
trees,  consequently  but  little  underbrush,  and  the  trees  were  not  in- 
jured by  the  fire  which  was  to  facilitate  the  growth  of  herbage  of  va- 
rious kinds  for  sheep  and  cattle.  It  also  destroyed  the  noxious  shrubs 
and  decaying  fallen  branches  which  impeded  the  travel  of  man  and 
beast.  Doctor  Hildreth,  in  his  description  of  the  custom,  says:  "While 
the  red  man  possessed  the  country  and  annually  set  fire  to  the  fallen 
leaves,  the  forests  presented  a  noble  and  enchanting  appearance.  The 
eye  roved  with  delight.  Like  the  divisions  of  an  immense  temple  the 
forests  were  crowded  with  innumerable  pillars,  the  branches  of  whose 
shafts  interlocking,  formed  the  archwork  of  support  to  that  leafy  roof 
which  covered  and  crowned  the  whole.  But  since  the  white  man  took 
possession,  the  annual  fires  have  been  checked,  and  the  woodlands 
are  now  filled  with  shrubs  and  brush  that  obstruct  the  vision  on  ever)' 
side,  and  convert  these  once  beautiful  forests  into  a  rude  and  taste- 
less wilderness." 

Referring  again  to  the  town  records,  the  fact  is  evident  that  prior 
to  1726  the  town  had  had  no  poor  people,  or  the  community  had  for- 
18 


274  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

gotten  that  "  The  poor  ye  have  with  you  alwaj's  ";  for  on  the  14th  of 
July  of  that  year,  in  open  town  meeting,  it  was  ordered  "that  a  house 
be  sett  up  of  seventeen  foot  long  and  thirteen  foot  wide,  at  the  town's 
cost  and  for  the  town's  use  for  such  of  the  poor  of  the  town  to  dwell 
in  as  shall  from  time  to  time  be  ordered  there  by  the  selectmen  or 
overseers  of  the  poor ;  and  that  the  same  be  furnished  fit  to  dwell  in 
and  the  cost  thereof  to  be  drawn  out  of  the  town  treasury  per  order 
from  the  selectmen.  And  that  sd  house  be  sett  in  the  most  conven- 
ient place  between  the  town's  pound  and  the  mill  river."  On  the  18th 
of  May,  1773,  a  committee,  that  had  previously  been  appointed,  re- 
ported that  it  was  best  to  hire  the  house  of  Seth  Tobey  for  the  poor, 
which  was  done  only  a  short  time,  when  the  town  purchased  the  pres- 
ent poor-house  farm  on  the  Spring  Hill  road,  of  which  Elijah  Hancock 
has  been  the  keeper  for  many  years. 

The  clouds  of  war  again  were  spread  over  the  county,  and  Sand- 
wich had  individual  duties  to  perform,  which  were  executed  in  the 
most  seasonable  and  loyal  manner.  In  1767  the  town  ordered  the 
building  of  a  powder  house,  which  was  duly  stocked  with  munitions 
of  war.  Other  precautions  were  wisely  taken,  and  every  call,  by 
the  government,  for  men  and  means  during  the  war  of  the  revolu- 
tion, was  responded  to  with  alacrity.  Besides  the  proportion  due  and 
required  in  this  great  struggle  for  independence  by  the  people.  Sand- 
wich had  local  obstructions  to  impede  and  embarass.  The  north  shore 
must  be  watched  and  secured  from  threatened  bombardment  and  in- 
vasion by  the  enemy ;  Falmouth  relied,  when  similar  depredations 
were  threatened,  upon  this  town  for  aid,  which  was  granted  by  mid- 
night marches. 

In  1778  the  smallpox  appeared  among  the  inhabitants  of  Sandwich, 
causing  more  alarm  than  would  a  British  fleet  if  anchored  within  gun- 
shot of  the  town.  The  action  taken  to  suppress  this  contagion  was 
prompt  and  eflFective.  A  pest-house  was  erected,  the  roads  wer6 
fenced,  nurses  were  provided,  red  flags  prevented  intrusion  to  its 
vicinity,  and  even  stray  dogs  and  cats  were  sacrificed  to  prevent  a 
spread  of  the  contagious  disease. 

The  sunshine  of  peace  in  1783  dispelled  the  clouds  of  war.  Sand- 
wich had  suffered  the  loss  of  several  brave  citizens — some  had  fallen 
in  defense  of  the  liberties  for  which  they  had  contended;  but  the 
greater  number  had  fled  to  Long  Island,  a  clime  then  more  congenial 
to  their  tory  proclivities,  but  later  they  were  permitted  to  return 
by  the  generous  people  of  Sandwich. 

With  the  dawn  of  the  present  century  the  town  had  assumed  its 
wonted  activity.  Other  mills  and  improvements  sprang  into  existence; 
the  town  bounds  on  all  sides  were  renewed;  and  such  was  its  buoy- 
ancy that  the  war  of  1812  passed  without  disturbing  its  industries. 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  275 

Illustrative  of  their  independence  was  the  vote  of  the  town,  September 
20,  1814,  that  "  in  case  of  any  attack  by  the  enemy  we  will  defend  the 
town  to  the  last  extremity."  The  significance  of  this  vote  more  fully 
appears  with  the  fact,  that  the  English  cruisers  had  made  demands, 
with  threats,  upon  other  towns  of  the  Cape,  and  had  been  paid  con- 
siderable amounts. 

The  war  of  1812  did  not  deter  the  building  of  a  cotton  factory  in 
that  year,  for  which  enterprise  the  town  gave  its  consent  by  vote  the 
previous  year,  "  that  Samuel  Wing  and  others  have  leave  to  erect  a  dam 
and  works  of  a  cotton  factory  on  the  stream  between  the  upper  and 
lower  ponds  in  Sandwich  village,  at  a  place  near  Wolf-trap  Neck,  so 
called."  This  was  used  many  years  as  a  factory  for  various  purposes 
and  was  burned  in, 1883. 

The  present  town  house,  near  the  old  grist  mill,  was  erected  in 
1834.  Prior  to  this,  public  meetings  were  held  in  the  church  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  those  days. 

The  prosperity  of  the  town  in  its  manufactories  established  after 
the  first  quarter  of  this  centtiry,  is  unprecedented  in  the  history  of 
the  towns  of  the  Cape.  The  loyalty  of  the  inhabitants  was  strongly 
marked  during  the  civil  war  of  1861-65,  by  its  early  action  as  re- 
corded in  Chapter  VII.  Every  quota  was  filled  promptly,  and  the  rec- 
ord of  the  soldiers,  as  kept  by  the  town,  shows  that  during  the  war 
386  men  were  enlisted,  ten  of  whom  were  colored.  These  were  scat- 
tered among  various  regiments  and  batteries,  and  in  the  naval  service, 
the  larger  numbers  in  single  regiments  being  68  in  the  Twenty-ninth, 
61  in  the  Fortieth,  and  24  in  the  Forty-fifth.  On  the  9th  of  April, 
1864,  by  a  vote  at  town  meeting  the  tax  of  one  mill  on  the  dollar  was 
made  to  create  a  sinking  fund  for  the  payment  of  the  debts  contracted, 
and  under  the  economical  supervision  of  the  selectmen  the  town  was 
soon  free  from  the  debts  of  the  rebellion. 

After  the  excitement  of  the  rebellion  the  people  again  relapsed 
into  peaceful  habits.  The  bogs,  were  further  developed  to  the  culture 
of  cranberries,  rendering  these  marshy  lands  of  more  value  than  up- 
lands; the  Old  Colony  railroad  had  opened  more  direct  and  rapid  trans- 
portation to  the  best  markets  for  the  products  of  the  land,  and  indus- 
tries of  every  kind  were  greatly  increased.  The  territory  embraced 
within  the  town  was  fifty  square  miles  and  the  communities  along  the 
western  border  had  become  important.  The  residents  of  North  and 
West  Sandwich  with  those  along  Buzzard's  bay  had  asked  for  a  divis- 
ion of  the  town;  but  without  avail.  After  the  opening  of  the  Wood's 
Holl  branch  of  the  railroad  the  western  portion  more  urgently  per- 
sisted in  the  division  of  the  original  town  of  Sandwich,  for  which 
cogent  reasons  were  advanced,  and  the  matter  was  contested  finally 
in  the  legislature  by  both  factions,  resulting  in  the  erection  of  Bourne 


276  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

from  Sandwich  in  1884,  the  particulars  of  which,  with  the  line  of  sep- 
aration, are  fully  given  in  the  Bourne  chapter. 

The  population,  territory  and  valuation  of  the  original  town  was 
lessened  one-half  by  this  division;  but  also  were  the  expenses.  The 
old  town  had  lost  the  seacoast  of  Buzzard's  bay;  but  had  retained 
nearly  all  that  of  Cape  Cod.  Sandwich  still  leads  the  other  towns  of 
the  Cape  in  manufactories,  paying  yearly  $6,000  for  schools,  $2,500 
for  the  poor,  $2,500  for  roads,  and  other  proportionate  expenses,  which 
indicates  to  the  reader  that  it  retains  its  rank  among  the  first. 

Villages. — The  history  of  the  village  of  Sandwich  and  that  of  the 
town  are  so  inseparably  blended  during  the  first  150  years  of  their 
growth,  that  either  would  compose  the  warp  or  the  woof  of  the  fabric 
presented  to  the  reader  at  the  close  of  the  18th  century.  The  three- 
score families  who  first  settled  in  1637  the  plantation  of  Sandwich, 
had  formed  the  nucleus  of  this  principal  village  which  so  promi- 
nently marked  the  town  in  its  industries  and  growth  during  the  pe- 
riod mentioned.  Early  in  its  history  the  village  of  Sandwich  was  the 
door  of  the  Cape  and  the  terminus  of  lines  of  travel.  This,  in  its 
turn,  created  taverns  and  other  places  of  business,  for  which  the  vil- 
lage was  most  celebrated  in  the  early  days  of  the  Cape.  In  1659  John 
Ellis  was  licensed  to  keep  an  "  ordinary  "  at  Sandwich  village,  and  sell 
"  strong  waters  and  wines,  only  not  to  let  town-dwellers  stay  drinking 
unnecessarily  at  his  house."  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  strong 
waters  sold  by  Ellis  had  any  connection  with  those  of  the  pond  above. 
Newcomb's  was  a  favorite  resort  situated  by  the  side  of  the  lower  pond; 
but  the  records  do  not  indicate  that  he  sold  the  waters  thereof.  William 
Bassett  was  licensed  by  the  court  in  1659  "  to  draw  wines,"  a  business 
which  he  followed  several  years  attended  with  its  consequent  troubles, 
as  in  1666  he  complained  of  James  Skiff,  jr.,  who  was  fined  10s.  "  for 
going  to  sd  Bassett's  house  and  taking  away  liquors  without  order." 
This  was  an  industry  susceptible  of  no  improvement  except  in  the 
desires  and  appetites  of  the  town-dwellers;  and  so,  after  a  fair  trial 
of  rum  rule  for  154  years,  the  good  people  on  May  3, 1819,  voted  "  that 
there  shall  be  no  retailer  of  distilled  liquors  licensed;  and  that  tavern 
keepers  are  not  to  be  approbated  unless  they  desist  from  mixing  and 
selling  to  town-dwellers." 

The  early  stage  and  mail  line  from  Plymouth  to  the  Cape  termi- 
nated at  the  celebrated  tavern  called  "  Fessenden's,"  which  was  then 
the  middle  section  of  the  present  Central  Hotel  on  Main  street.  This 
building  was  originally  the  residence  of  Rev.  Benjamin  Fessenden, 
and  William  Fessenden,  his  son,  opened  an  ordinary  after  the  decease 
of  his  father.  We  can  date  its  advent  in  1790  as  the  principal  tavern 
of  the  village,  from  which  all  the  stages  started — to  Plymouth  daily 
and  east  on  the  Cape  tri-weekly.     Mr.  Fessenden  retired  in   1830  and 


m-'"' rr'^':^-smi^^-.^yr.i^  M^i^x^  . .»- 


RESIDENCE    OE   OEORQE    E.    DREW, 

Sandwich,  Mass 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  277 

was  succeeded  by  Sabin  Smith,  who  at  once  erected  the  eastern  and 
larger  portion  of  the  present  Central  Hotel.  Elisha  Pope  and  Sewell 
Fessenden  were  the  landlords  successively  until  1844,  then  Michael 
Scott  and  David  Thompson  until  1863.  Zenas  Chadwick  then  became 
the  owner,  kept  it  for  a  time  and  was  succeeded  for  two  years  by  Frank 
Aborn,  then  by  A.  C.  Southworth  until  November,  1888,  when  Zenas 
Chadwick  resumed  its  control  and  continued  until  his  death  in  1889. 

Nearly  in  the  rear  of  this  hotel,  or  perhaps  more  directly  in  rear 
of  the  church  near  by,  is  the  site  of  the  old  pound  which  the  people 
were  compelled  to  build  in  1715  by  the  order  of  the  court  of  sessions, 
to  which  complaint  had  been  made  of  their  neglect. 

Nathaniel  Freeman,  whose  appointment  was  dated  April  25,  1793. 
William  Fessenden  succeeded  him  October  6, 1795,  and  continued  the 
office  in  his  hotel  until  May  9,  1825,  when  his  son  William  H.  Fessen- 
den moved  it  to  the  drug  store  building  east  of  the  hotel,  where  he 
filled  the  duty  of  postmaster  until  Avery  P.  Ellis  was  commissioned, 
October  26,  1839.  Zenas  R.  Hinckley  was  the  next  postmaster  from 
September  16,  1841,  until  July  28,  1853,  when  Charles  B.  Hall  was 
appointed  and  kept  the  office  until  1861  in  the  same  building.  Fred- 
erick S.  Pope  served  from  1861  to  October  1,  1887,  when  James  Shev- 
lin  was  appointed. 

There  is  no  mention  of  stores  in  the  early  records  except  of  the 
class  that  "  draw  wines,"  but  no  doubt  codfish  and  molasses,  tea  and 
tobacco  were  kept  at  such  establishments.  Mr.  Fessenden  had  a  store, 
such  as  it  was,  with  his  post  office,  and  was  succeeded  by  W.  H.  Fes- 
senden in  the  present  drug  store  building  east  of  the  Central  Hotel. 
Zenas  Hinckley  and  Mr.  Stetson  were  partners  in  a  dry  goods  and 
grocery  business  in  the  same  building,  wherein  also  Charles  B.  Hall 
did  business  until  his  death  in  1881.  Stores  of  various  kinds  were 
numerous  after  1825. 

George  P.  Drew  of  Sandwich  was  born  in  1828,  and,  although  not 
a  native  of  the  Cape,  has  been  one  of  its  solid  business  men  nearly 
forty  years.  He  was  bom  at  Plymouth,  Mass.,  and  after  a  short  pe- 
riod in  business  at  New  Bedford  he  opened,  in  1851,  a  clothing  busi- 
ness at  Sandwich,  which  he  continues  and  is  now  one  of  the  oldest 
living  business  men  of  that  town.  During  his  term  of  business  life 
he  has  been  identified  with  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  his  adopted 
town,  and  his  thorough  and  energetic  nature  has  marked  his  enter- 
prises with  success.  In  1881  he  erected  on  Jarvis  street  the  fine  resi- 
dence in  which  he  lives,  and  which  is  the  subject  of  the  accompanying 
illustration.  Mr.  Drew  may  point  with  pride  to  his  ancestry,  the 
primogenitor  in  New  England  being  John  Drew  from  whom  in  suc- 
cession descended  Lemuel,  Seth,  Lemuel  and  William,  his  father,  who 
married  Priscilla,  daughter  of  Judah  Washburn.     George  P.  Drew, 


278  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

youngest  son  of  William,  in  1852,  married  Martha  A.  Southworth  and 
their  children  are  Sara  C.  and  Ida  W. 

John  Q.  Miller  opened  a  clothing  store  in  1857  at  the  foot  of  Jarvis 
street  in  Swift's  block,  which  was  burned  in  the  fire  of  1870.  He  pur- 
chased and  moved  the  Universalist  church  to  the  burnt  district  the 
same  year  and  continued  the  business  until  1885,  when  he  commenced 
the  present  livery  business.  R.C.Clark's  store,  started  in  1857,  was 
one  of  the  six  burned;  the  fire  originated  in  the  building  that  occupied 
the  site  of  the  present  store  of  Frank  H.  Burgess  and  extended  to  Wil- 
low street.  Mr.  Clark  opened  another  store  which  he  continued  sev- 
eral years.  In  1875  his  sons,  C.  M.  and  Fletcher  Clark,  opened  a 
general  store  where  Mr.  Fletcher  Clark  is  now,  who  purchased  the 
interest  of  his  brother  C.  M.,  January,  1888.  In  1877  Frank  H.  Bur- 
gess built  the  present  store  and  deals  in  furniture,  wall  papers,  and 
fancy  goods. 

T.  C.  Sherman  commenced  business  about  1866  on  Jarvis  street, 
afterward  erecting  the  store  now  occupied  by  Sanford  I.  Morse,  to 
which  he  removed.  He  sold  the  grocery  business  to  Charles  H.  Bur- 
gess in  1861  and  the  dry  goods  to  A.  F.  Sherman.  Mr.  Burgess  con- 
tinued the  business  in  the  same  store,  his  three  sons,  Frank,  Charles, 
and  Thornton  being  partners  alternately,  until  1880,  when  the  present 
grocer,  Sanford  I.  Morse  purchased  the  business.  James  W.  Crocker 
opened  a  store  in  1854,  in  Boyden  block,  when  the  building  was  new, 
and  he  is  still  engaged  in  the  grocery  and  confectionery  business. 
An  old  merchant  here  was  William  Loring,  who  was  several  years  in 
a  room  under  the  town  hall,  and  in  1845  we  find  him  nearly  opposite 
the  Central  House  with  his  store.  For  twenty-one  years  John  Murray 
was  a  merchant  here  on  Jarvis  street  dealing  in  dry  goods  and  cloth- 
ing, removing  from  Providence,  R.  I.,  where  he  commenced  business 
in  1854.  Gustavus  Howland  for  forty-two  years  has  been  engaged  in 
the  lumber  business,  having  purchased  the  Deming  Jarvis  lumber 
yard  of  H.  H.  Thayer  in  1847. 

The  first  hardware  merchant  in  the  church  building,  east  side  of 
Jarvis  street,  was  Josiah  Foster,  who  had  a  store  at  his  house  previ- 
ously. In  1870  Foster  sold  this  hardware  business  to  E.  F.  Hall,  who 
in  1873  was  succeeded  by  James  S.  Bicknell.  O.  H.  Howland,  the 
present  owner,  purchased  the  stock  in  May,  1876,  and  his  business 
desk  is  placed  upon  the  pulpit  of  the  Puritan  chapel.  Not  that  he 
was  a  member  of  said  church,  or  that  his  good  business  name  is  nec- 
essarily based  thereon;  but  his  desk  actually  rests  upon  the  pulpit 
occupied  by  Rev.  Giles  Pe.se  forty-two  years  ago.  In  1866,  Gibbs  & 
Hunt  erected  the  building  now  occupied  by  Benjamin  G.  Bartley  for 
a  boot,  shoe  and  dry  goods  business  which  was  subsequently  sold  to 
Joshua  Jones,  who  ran  it  about  eight  years.     J.  F.  Knowles,  in  1880, 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH.  279 

purchased  the  boots  and  shoes,  and  F.  S.  Allen  &  Co.  the  dry  goods, 
both  parties  occupying  the  store.  After  four  years  Mr.  Knowles  sold 
his  stock  to  F.  E.  Pierce,  who  removed  it  to  the  Novelty  block  and 
and  then  to  the  building  next  north  of  Rowland's  hardware  store, 
where  he  was  burned  out  in  1888.  In  October,  1884,  Allen  &  Co.  sold 
their  stock  to  Benjamin  F.  Bartley,  who  added  to  the  depth  of  the 
store  in  1887,  and  carries  a  large  line  of  dry  goods  only. 

Sandwich  has  long  been  noted  for  its  many  and  useful  manufacto- 
ries, of  which  that  of  the  Boston  and  Sandwich  Glass  Company  was 
for  many  years  the  most  prominent.  Deming  Jarvis  established  it  in 
the  village  in  1826.  The  adjacent  pine  lands,  of  which  vast  tracts 
were  purchased  for  the  wood,  was  the  inducement  for  its  location.  A 
stock  company,  mostly  of  Boston  capitalists,  was  formed  in  1826  under 
the  above  name,  running  one  furnace  and  gradually  increasing  to  four 
of  large  capacity.  During  the  years  1861-64,  the  business  employed 
500  hands  in  its  various  departments,  manufacturing  yearly  to  the 
amount  of  $300,000.  The  establishment  closed  its  doors  January  1, 
1888,  having  then  on  its  pay  rolls  the  names  of  276  men.  Ten  of  its 
employees  the  same  year  erected  a  building,  and  eight  of  them  are 
now  manufacturing  under  the  name  of  the  Sandwich  Co-operative 
Glass  Company. 

Another  important  manufactory  is  that  of  Spurr's  Patent  Veneers, 
Marqueteries,  and  Wood  Carvings.  In  1882  Charles  W.  Spurr,  of  Bos- 
ton, started  veneer  cutting  in  the  building  formerly  belonging  to  the 
Cape  Cod  Glass  Works.  In  1887  others  became  interested,  creating 
the  firm  of  Charles  W.  Spurr  &  Co.  A  large  number  of  men  are  now 
engaged  in  cutting  veneers  for  cigar  boxes,  car  work,  furniture,  and 
for  ornamental  uses,  and  carvings  for  furniture  and  ceilings.  In  con- 
nection with  it  a  company  was  formed  in  the  autumn  of  1888  called 
the  Cape  Cod  Glass  Company,  of  which  Charles  W.  Spurr  is  the  presi- 
dent.   The  cutting  and  decorating  of  glass  employs  many  men. 

Near  the  works  mentioned,  is  the  factory  of  the  Bay  State  Tack 
Company.  The  manufacture  of  tacks  was  begun  by  Stephen  R.  Wing 
and  Stephen  R.  Rogers,  southwest  of  the  village  in  the  old  cotton 
mill,  which  was  built  by  Mr.  Wing's  father,  Samuel.  They  did  busi- 
ness as  the  Sandwich  Tack  Company  and  after  Zenas  R.  Hinckley, 
their  successor,  had  been  followed  by  some  Sandwich  people  as 
owners,  Jones  &  Heald  bought  the  property  about  1863  and  operated 
it  under  its  original  name,  until  its  destruction  by  fire  in  1883.  In 
the  meantime  E.  B.  Rowland  organized  the  Bay  State  Tack  Company 
and  in  1880  they  built  the  factory  still  standing  near  the  Catholic 
church,  and  operated  there  for  several  years.  In  1882  Jones  &  Heald 
bought  of  the  Central  Manufacturing  Company  of  Boston,  who  had 
purchased  of  the  two  Burgess  brothers,  a  two-thirds  interest  in  this 


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